UNifeed: POLAND / LENDING

POLAND / LENDING

The World Bank and Poland renew their partnership strategy for the next four years. Bank lending could reach US $6 billion over the next year supporting Poland through the global financial crisis and beyond. WORLD BANK

Duration:02:10Date:30 June 2009

Categories:

WORLD BANK, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT FINANCE, POLAND

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Full Script

STORY: POLAND / LENDING
TRT: 2.10		
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: NONE 
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 30 JUNE 2009, WASHINGTON D.C. / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2009 WARSAW, POLAND

1.	Wide shot, street Warsaw with traffic 
2.	Med shot, people walking
3.	Close up, two elderly on bench
4.	Close up, two elderly men making music
5.	Zoom out,  building to skyline Warsaw
6.	SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries: 
“We are trying to focus on the areas where we can be most value added relative to the other partners, in particular the EU. And clearly one such area is the social sector which is outside of the EU framework: health education, social protection.” 
7.	Wide shot, pedestrians
8.	Med shot, pedestrians
9.	Med shot, guy in wheelchair at ATM
10.	Wide shot, road construction
11.	Pan, road construction
12.	Zoom out, from globe on top of building to street
13.	SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries: 
“We think that as the crisis subsides and conditions in the international financial markets become more normal, we anticipate gradually phasing out the lending services and introducing more fee-based services. So providing our knowledge rather through a fee than a loan.” 
14.	Wide shot, street corner Warsaw
15.	Wide shot, rural road
16.	 Med shot, old man walking country road
17.	SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries: 
“For the Bank to be working with a country like Poland is also extremely useful for us as an institution because it keeps our knowledge updated and sharp and we can apply our lessons from Poland to other countries in the region further East, for example in Belarus or Ukraine.” 
18.	Med shot, crowded Warsaw street
19.	Wide shot, produce market
20.	Wide shot, market

STORYLINE:

After five years of rapid growth, Poland is becoming a high-income country with strong and modern institutions. At about 10 percent, unemployment is relatively low. But too many Poles have been sent into early retirement or are not participating in the economy at all – lowering the growth potential and weighing heavily on the budget.

Poland is now feeling the impact of the global economic crisis. Despite massive support from the European Union, demand for World Bank assistance remains strong.

SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries:  “We are trying to focus on the areas where we can be most value added relative to the other partners, in particular the EU. And clearly one such area is the social sector which is outside of the EU framework: health education, social protection.”

Overall World Bank lending to Poland could reach over 6 billion dollars over the next year – aimed at supporting reforms in public finance, social sectors and private sector development.

The Bank is also supporting infrastructure projects - ranging from energy efficiency and flood protection to road maintenance and rehabilitation. A new project with the City of Warsaw could help to improve the overstretched transport system.

The Bank is also planning to work with the financial sector to increase credit lines for small and medium size businesses.

Lending will have to be flexible in order to assist Poland in completing its transition in rocky times.

SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries: 
“We think that as the crisis subsides and conditions in the international financial markets become more normal, we anticipate gradually phasing out the lending services and introducing more fee-based services. So providing our knowledge rather through a fee than a loan.”

Providing capacity building for a fee could all but replace traditional lending in Poland in the coming years. 
And, in addition to working through central authorities, the Bank will increasingly look into helping regional and local governments to turn reforms into tangible benefits.

SOUNDBITE (English) Thomas Laursen, World Bank Country Manager Poland and Baltic Countries:
“For the Bank to be working with a country like Poland is also extremely useful for us as an institution because it keeps our knowledge updated and sharp and we can apply our lessons from Poland to other countries in the region further East, for example in Belarus or Ukraine.”

So far Poland has been a success story, both regionally and globally. Now, in difficult economic times, the country might need more support from the World Bank and other lenders to keep it this way.

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