Coronavirus : World Bank, IMF Ask Poor Countries To Defer Loan Repayments

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group have asked official bilateral lenders to suspend debt repayments from International Development Association (IDA) countries.

This was contained in a joint statement by the institutions on Wednesday saying this will help tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak.

The International Development Association is a financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest developing countries.

“The coronavirus outbreak is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for IDA countries, home to a quarter of the world’s population and two-thirds of the world’s population living in extreme poverty,” the statement read.

“This will help with IDA countries’ immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak and allow time for an assessment of the crisis impact and financing needs for each country.”

The World Bank Group and the IMF said it was important to provide a global sense of relief for developing countries and send a strong signal to financial markets.