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So the EBRD has a new, British, president, breaking the Franco-German stranglehold on the institution and elected for the first time through an open competition. Will the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other multilateral bodies now come under pressure to do the same? Well, possibly. Sir Suma Chakrabarti, the winning candidate, said after his victory the “open, fair and merit-based process has been a credit to the Bank and to all the other candidates”. But while the decision was more merit-based than the intra-European Union stitch-ups that produced previous presidents, it was still intensely political. George Osborne, the UK chancellor who had championed Chakrabarti’s candidacy, insisted he was the “best candidate for the job” but conceded his victory was also the product of a ... Continue reading →

Sat May 19, 2012 10:12am EDT * High valuations, tough funding hitting Turkey privatisations * Bid prices have fallen, tenders delayedBy Sujata RaoLONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - High valuations and tough funding conditions due to the euro zone crisis are affecting Turkey's privatisation plans, forcing the postponement of several recent tenders, delegates at the EBRD's annual meeting heard on Saturday."Pre-crisis, the first priority was asset quality. If it was good, banks were able to provide lending even if you didn't have equity," Suha Gucsav, CEO of Turkish conglomerate Akfen Holding told a conference at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Bank's meeting."Post-crisis, the first thing banks ask is who is the sponsor, second what's the equity, then the asset and that is a dramatic ... Continue reading →

Sat May 19, 2012 12:02pm EDT * Says oil prices still above budget levels * Oil fall hits Russian rouble exchange rate, stock marketLONDON May 19 (Reuters) - Russia is not concerned about the current selloff in oil markets as crude prices remain above the level at which its budget is calculated, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said on Saturday.Brent crude futures fell last week to 2012 lows below $107 a barrel as the euro zone crisis hit world growth expectations. But Storchak said there were still big oil supply risks while energy demand in China and India remained robust."Oil prices are still high, we are comfortable...I don't think we need to be afraid.""Our budget is based on a $100 per barrel price for Urals, ... Continue reading →

Sat May 19, 2012 12:42pm EDT * Concerns swelling about strength of democracy in some countries * EBRD's new countries of operation in N.Africa face instabilityBy Carolyn CohnLONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's president-elect said the bank's role in promoting democracy through its investments would be a central focus for his term, as the EBRD agreed a 1 billion euro fund for North Africa.In addition to the impact of the euro zone crisis on the bank's emerging Europe region, there are increasing concerns about the strength of democracy in countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, while the bank's four new countries of operation in North Africa face political instability.Suma Chakrabarti, who was elected the first British EBRD president ... Continue reading →

Sat May 19, 2012 11:45am EDT * Countries uncertain over euro entry plans due to crisis * Euro aspirants say bloc's original rules should stand* Only states in EU meet Maastricht criteria for euroBy Michael Winfrey and Michael DolanLONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - Plans of the few Eastern European states still trying to join the ailing euro zone are at risk due to the crisis in the single currency but they insist the bloc should stick to its original rules instead of altering them for countries like Greece.Speaking at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's annual meeting as the euro crisis intensifies around Greece's possible exit from the bloc, officials from countries still with firm commitments on joining the euro said those plans depended ... Continue reading →

By Carolyn Cohn and Michael Winfrey LONDON | Fri May 18, 2012 2:59pm EDT LONDON (Reuters) - A new banking crunch in the euro zone risks another sharp retreat by western parent banks from vulnerable economies in central and eastern Europe, a process that must be slowed to preserve growth, officials from the region said on Friday. Countries backing Europe's development bank for the former communist bloc elected a new president - for the first time from non-euro member Britain - just as fears grow that a Greek exit from the currency could hit emerging Europe's lenders.Many east European countries outside the euro have banks wholly or largely owned by western parents, which are reducing lending as they try to fix balance sheets damaged by ... Continue reading →

Fri May 18, 2012 2:46pm EDT By Carolyn Cohn and Drazen JorgicLONDON May 18 (Reuters) - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development shareholders elected senior civil servant Suma Chakrabarti as the bank's first British president on Friday, in a process lauded for its open selection.Chakrabarti replaces Germany's Thomas Mirow, president since 2008, who campaigned without Germany's backing in a five-candidate race after the European Union failed to agree a consensus candidate.Previous EBRD presidents have always been French or German and France's Philippe de Fontaine Vive Curtaz was one of the other candidates.Chakrabarti, who was elected for a four-year term, is currently permanent secretary - the most senior civil servant - at Britain's Ministry of Justice. He previously ran Britain's Department for International Development."The success of ... Continue reading →

The withering complexity of a four-year-old global financial crisis — in the euro zone, United States or increasingly in China and across the faster-growing developing world — is now stretching the minds and patience of even the most clued-in experts and commentators. Unsurprisingly, the average householder is perplexed, increasingly anxious and keen on a simpler narrative they can rally around or rail against. It’s fast becoming a fertile environment for half-baked conspiracy theories, apocalypse preaching and no little political opportunism. And, as ever, a tempting electoral ploy is to convince the public there’s some magic national solution to problems way beyond borders. For a populace fearful of seemingly inextricable connections to a wider world they can’t control, it’s not difficult to see the lure of ... Continue reading →