The largest multilateral investors and lenders in Eastern Europe -- the EBRD, the EIB Group, and the World Bank -- have pledged to provide up to 24.5 billion euros (31.1 billion dollars) to support the banking sectors in the region and to fund lending to businesses hit by the global economic crisis.

This initiative complements national crisis responses and will deploy rapid, large-scale and coordinated financial assistance from the International Financial Institutions to support lending to the real economy through private banking groups, in particular to small and medium-sized enterprises, according to a statement released by the World Bank on Friday.

The financial support will include equity and debt finance, credit lines, and political risk insurance, it added.

"This is a time for Europe to come together to ensure that the achievements of the last 20 years are not lost because of an economic crisis that is rapidly turning into a human crisis," said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

"I welcome the close cooperation among the EBRD, the EIB and the World Bank Group, and am committed to making this partnership work as we move forward to address the risk of a crisis of the banking sector in Eastern Europe," he said.

Source: Xinhua