Jermakova journeyed to Vienna for loans

The head of the National Bank went to Vienna, where she met the head of the National Bank of Austria and IMF’s executive officer.

This follows from a statement by the National Bank’s press-service.

“For the purpose of developing mutually beneficial relations between the Republic of Belarus and the Austrian Republic in economic and financial domains, a working visit of the chairwoman of the board of the National Bank of Belarus Nadzieja Jermakova took place on 11 June 2014, - the statement reads. – In the course of the visit a meeting took place of the head of the National Bank of Belarus and the manager of the National Bank of Austria Evald Novotny and IMF’s executive office Johann Prader”.

The parties exchanged opinion as to the social and economic development of the Republic of Belarus and Austria, the state and prospects for the development of the two countries’ banking systems, the bank’s monetary and credit policy. Special attention was paid to the measures in the sphere of monetary policy for minimizing the influence of the world financial and economic crisis on the national economies.

It follows from the statement that the main purpose of the trip of the National Bank’s head was to have a gig as a lecturer at Vienna United Institute, where Jermakova spoke to the listeners of the course in applied economic policies, AFN reports.

However, the head of the National Bank went to Vienna with more pragmatic and pressing tasks. Belarus urgently needs loans, and it does not matter, where they come from – east or west.

There are not many options, but there are some: a commercial loan from the Raiffeisen bank or other options of large-scale financing, purchase of a share in one of the Belarusian state-owned banks or purchase of a bank in Belarus by yet another Austrian bank (Paritetbank, Moscow-Minsk Bank etc). It cannot be ruled out that the trip to Vienna was the first step on the way to resume cooperation with the IMF.

Austria was not picked by accident as a country to look for money – it is the most loyal out of all the EU members to the Belarusian dictatorship, has rich selection lobbying agents and high corruption tolerance.