April 14, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented human and health crisis. The measures necessary to contain the virus have triggered an economic downturn. At this point, there is great uncertainty about its severity and length. The latest Global Financial Stability Report shows that the financial system has already felt a dramatic impact, and a further intensification of the crisis could affect global financial stability. Since the pandemic’s outbreak, prices of risk assets have fallen sharply. At the worst point of the recent...

April 8, 2020 | Today, the European Union is launching its “Team Europe” package to support partner countries in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. The objective of the “Team Europe” approach is to combine resources from the EU, its Member States, and financial institutions, in particular the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have already pledged financial support amounting to more than €15.6 billion from existing programmes....

April 9, 2020 | The Federal Reserve on Thursday took additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to support the economy. This funding will assist households and employers of all sizes and bolster the ability of state and local governments to deliver critical services during the coronavirus pandemic. "Our country's highest priority must be to address this public health crisis, providing care for the ill and limiting the further spread of the virus," said Federal Reserve Board Chair...

April 7, 2020 • ECB adopts an unprecedented set of collateral measures to mitigate the tightening of financial conditions across the euro area • Temporary increase in the Eurosystem’s risk tolerance in order to support credit to the economy • ECB eases the conditions for the use of credit claims as collateral • ECB adopts a general reduction of collateral valuation haircuts • Waiver to accept Greek sovereign debt instruments as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations • ECB will assess further measures to temporarily mitigate...

April 9, 2020 | 23:05 1. The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge with very severe socio-economic consequences. We are committed to do everything necessary to meet this challenge in a spirit of solidarity. 2. A coordinated and comprehensive strategy is necessary to deal with health emergency needs, to support economic activity and to prepare the ground for the recovery. This strategy should combine short, medium and long-term initiatives, taking account of the spill overs and interlinkages between our economies and...

A message from Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director | April 9, 2020 Introduction: A Crisis Like No Other I want to begin by wishing my personal best to everyone—for you and your families’ health and safety during these difficult times. Today we are confronted with a crisis like no other. Covid-19 has disrupted our social and economic order at lightning speed and on a scale that we have not seen in living memory. The virus is causing tragic loss of life, and the...

April 8, 2020 Today, the European Commission and the High Representative set out plans for a robust and targeted EU response to support partner countries' efforts in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. The EU's collective action will focus on addressing the immediate health crisis and resulting humanitarian needs, strengthening partner countries' health, water and sanitation systems and their research and preparedness capacities to deal with the pandemic, as well as mitigating the socioeconomic impact. To underpin these actions, the EU will...