Your article of 3 July (Lidl has received almost $1bn in public development funding) did not give an adequate explanation of the business model used by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as it carries out its mandate to help countries in their transition to well-functioning and sustainable market economies.
The reference to companies that “benefited … from public development money” conveyed the impression that the funding is in the form of grants or state handouts. This is not the case. The EBRD’s loans are commercial transactions conducted at commercial rates, and the returns from its investments are recycled into more projects in the regions where it works. The EBRD is largely self-funding in its operations.
Since its creation in 1991, it has drawn down just over €5bn of its €30bn share capital and made investments in excess of €100bn.
Anthony Williams
Head of external relations, EBRD
