response to c vid -19 · school of public policy & governance, tiss- hyderabad sarayu &...

International Policy Response April 14th, 2020

TANNIYA SANKHYAN | SARAYU NANDAKUMAR

FACULTY MENTOR: ASEEM PRAKASH

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE

TATA INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES HYDERABAD

RESPONSE TO

C VID -19

S e r i e s 5 – R e p o r t 1

School of Public Policy & Governance, TISS- Hyderabad Sarayu & Tanniya

About the Series:

The School of Public Policy & Governance, TISS Hyderabad, is collaborating and

supporting the initiative undertaken by its alumnus to document the response of

Union and State Governments to address the Health, Livelihood and other Welfare

concerns posed by COVID-19. This initiative documents the international policy

response

Note: As we understand, this documentation is a dynamic exercise and will require

constant upgradation. We will attempt to add the new initiatives regularly and

disseminate it widely.

The information used in this document have been taken from reports published by

respective governments, IMF, WHO and other international bodies and every effort

was taken to ensure that the data is accurate and reliable. Any inadvertent

omissions/lapses are deeply regretted. Please inform of any such omissions at

[email protected]. Immediate measures will be taken to correct the

information.

About the Authors: Sarayu Nandakumar, alumnus of the batch 2016-18, holds an MA in Development Studies from the School of Livelihood and Development, TISS, is currently engaged with the Aga Khan Foundation. Tanniya Sankhyan, alumnus of the batch 2016 – 18, holds an MA in Public Policy & Governance from the School of Public Policy &Governance, TISS, is currently engaged with the Government of Karnataka. Faculty Mentor: Aseem Prakash, Professor & Chairperson, School of Public Policy and Governance, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Hyderabad. All views expressed in this document are personal and has no relation to any affiliated institution.

mailto:[email protected]


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Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION ___________________________________________________________________________ 2

SCHEMATIC FLOW _________________________________________________________________________ 4

BACKGROUND ____________________________________________________________________________ 5

SHORT TERM MEASURES TAKEN _____________________________________________________________ 6

EARLY RESPONSE___________________________________________________________________________ 6 SUMMARY OF EARLY MEASURES ________________________________________________________________ 7 OTHER MEASURES _________________________________________________________________________ 9

Masks _______________________________________________________________________________ 9 Testing Kits __________________________________________________________________________ 10 Technology __________________________________________________________________________ 11 Control Material for Laboratory Tests _____________________________________________________ 12 Vaccine _____________________________________________________________________________ 12

UNIQUE GLOBAL POLICY RESPONSES _________________________________________________________ 13

FISCAL & SOCIAL POLICY_____________________________________________________________________ 13 Medium & Small Enterprises – Brazil, China, Italy, Singapore ___________________________________ 13 Prevention Of Unemployment & Quicker Recovery – Germany, Brazil, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Singapore ___________________________________________________________________________________ 15 Migrant Labour – Portugal, Maldives, Lebanon _____________________________________________ 18 Healthcare – Lithuania, S.Korea, Eu, Germany, Ukraine, Portugal, Singapore ______________________ 19 Tourism _____________________________________________________________________________ 22

EUROPEAN UNION ________________________________________________________________________ 24 MONETARY MEASURES _____________________________________________________________________ 26

Denmark ____________________________________________________________________________ 26 Czech Repubic ________________________________________________________________________ 26 Kenya ______________________________________________________________________________ 26 Srilanka _____________________________________________________________________________ 27

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ___________________________________________________________ 28

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION _______________________________________________________________ 28 UNITED NATIONS _________________________________________________________________________ 29 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ______________________________________________________________ 29 ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK __________________________________________________________________ 29 KFW DEVELOPMENT BANK ___________________________________________________________________ 30

SUMMARY ______________________________________________________________________________ 31

ANNEXURE I _____________________________________________________________________________ 32

COUNTRY SPECIFIC POLICY MEASURES _______________________________________________________ 33

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Flattening the curve ________________________________________________________________ 3

Figure 2: Timeline of COVID-19 and Government Responses ________________________________________ 6

Figure 3: Flattening of the Curve ______________________________________________________________ 9

Figure 4: Total test for covid-19 ______________________________________________________________ 11

Figure 5: New control material for testing sars-cov-2 _____________________________________________ 12

Figure 6: G20 Countries Fiscal Response to covid-19 ______________________________________________ 31


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Introduction

The pandemic has prompted governments across the world to act quickly as the crisis has

loomed upon with unprecedented set of problems. With no cure or vaccine as of today for

the disease, governments are tasked to respond through policy interventions to effectively

and immediately curtail the spread as well as adopting certain policy measures to provide

economic and social safeguards to mitigate a total social and economic disorder. The

immediate policy outcome to curtail the spread of the disease can be visualized graphically

through the shape of a curve. The curve represents the trajectory of positive cases (those

infected with the disease) plotted along the y axis with dates plotted on the x axis. With no

intervention, the curve is said to grow exponentially. Therefore, the first response for any

government has been to design the shape of this graph through strategic policy action. The

most popular imagination is to ‘flatten the curve’ or delay the spread of the disease by locking

down the economy and discontinuing non-essential activities and adopting other protective

measures, so that additional time is bought, easing the burden on the health care system and

the overall impact it has on the economy. Some countries of the West 1 have tried an

alternative approach to curtail the spread of the disease called ‘herd immunity’ – where so

many people in the community become immune to the disease that it stops spreading. While

these are two popular immediate approaches to deal with the spread of the disease due to

non-availability of a vaccine, the outbreak itself has led to a catastrophic impact on the

economy globally. More specific, it has impacted various sectors and segments of the

economy differently.

This report therefore considers the trajectory of confirmed cases, how it has developed from

Jan 17th to April 14thnd and specifies the measures taken by the countries that were

frontrunners in taking early action. Further, it documents the policy response on various

sectors of the economy across countries as well as records the response of some of the

prominent international organisations such as the World Health Organisation, Asian

Development Bank, United Nations and International Monetary Fund. While some countries

have managed to defend themselves better with the resulting outcomes of certain policy

1 United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands


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measures to be somewhat favourable in the short run, every single policy decision taken is a

considered to be as valuable, for they offer great insights and learning. The need of the hour

is to better understand learn from these experiences so as to guide us in taking evidence

based policy measures. This may be supplemented with similar studies using statistical

analysis.2

2 A team of researchers at Blavatnik School of Policy, University of Oxford have created an online tracker which collates government’s action and

adoption of policy measures and uses statistical tools to determine if stringency of government responses and the time at which those decisions were taken have any implications on the rate of infection. https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/research-projects/oxford-covid-19-government-response-tracker

FIGURE 1: FLATTENING THE CURVE

https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/research-projects/oxford-covid-19-government-response-tracker


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Country wise - Case Fatality Rate

Unique Policy Measures

Country Highlights -Policy Responses on

Econimic Impact

Medium and Small Enterprises

Prevention Of Unemployment & Quicker Recovery

Migrants

Healthcare

Tourism

Country Highlights-Monetary Policy

International Organisations

WHO

UN

IMF

ADB

KfW

Early Response measures

Schematic Flow


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Background The first case was reported in China on 17th November, 2019. The Chinese authorities

intimated the World Health Organisation on 31st December, 2019 when it was already a full-

fledged outbreak. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on

11th March, 2020. This report takes cognisance of policy action taken from the time first case

was reported in China to April 14th. The table below indicates the case fatality rate of different

countries since the time WHO declared covid-19 as a pandemic.

Source: (worldometers, 2020)

11th

March

14th

April

11th

March

14th

April

UK 434 81422 8 12107 14.87%

Italy 12462 162488 827 21067 12.97%

Netherlands 503 27419 5 2945 10.74%

Spain 2277 174060 55 18255 10.49%

Sweden 500 11335 1 1033 9.11%

Iran 9000 74877 354 4683 6.25%

Brazil 52 25684 0 1552 6.04%

Denmark 514 6511 0 299 4.59%

USA 1301 613883 38 26047 4.24%

Kenya 0 216 0 9 4.17%

China 80793 82295 3169 3342 4.06%

Bosnia and

Herzegovina 7 1083 0 40 3.69%

India 62 11555 0 384 3.32%

Lebanon 68 641 2 21 3.28%

Portugal 61 17448 0 567 3.25%

Srilanka 2 233 0 7 3.00%

Ukraine 1 3372 0 98 2.91%

Guatemala 0 180 0 5 2.78%

Lithuania 3 1091 0 29 2.66%

Germany 1966 132210 3 3495 2.64%

Czech

Republic 94 6141 0 161 2.62%

South Korea 7755 10591 60 224 2.12%

Finland 65 3161 0 64 2.02%

Taiwan 48 395 1 6 1.52%

Iceland 85 1720 0 8 0.47%

Hong Kong 130 1013 3 4 0.39%

Singapore 178 3252 0 10 0.31%Maldives 8 21 0 0 0.00%

Postive cases Deaths Case

Fatality

RateCountry


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FIGURE 2: TIMELINE OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT RESPONSES Source: Brookings India, 2020

Short Term Measures Taken

Early Response

Almost all the countries across the world have taken immediate measures to curtail the

spread of the virus through social distancing, travel bans, closure of schools, events, parks,

restaurants and other public places and the most stringent of all, a lockdown. The figure

below pictorially represents when various governments’ have taken these measures since the

first case reported in Wuhan.

The East Asian countries – namely Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea emerged to be better

coping as a result of their early response. They acted based on the learnings and experiences

from the outbreak of SARS and MERS in early 2000s. The following pages innumerate the early

measures these specific countries took that considerably flattened the curve.


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Summary of Early Measures

Taiwan Singapore South Korea

Only 81 miles away from mainland China, Taiwan has been extremely successful in containing the spread of the virus in the country. As on April 2nd, 2020 the total number of Covid 19 positive cases in the country were 339 with a total of 5 deaths (Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, 2020). Its early and aggressive efforts has ensured such a control. Picking upon the signals of a flu like illness in Wuhan through social media in December, the CDC in Taiwan sent out two doctors to Wuhan to know more about the situation and on January 20th, the government of Taiwan set up and activated a centralized command center.

• First reported case- 21st January 2020

• Screening and testing at airports from when China reported to WHO in January.

• Suspended tours to China from February 2020

• Banned exports of face masked and capped them at $0.17 and rationed it out to citizens’ upon presenting their Natl. Health Insurance Card.

• By late February, Teipei distributed masks, hand

• First case reported on 23rd January

• Infrastructure – isolation

hospitals were built after the SARS outbreak with negative pressure rooms in place.

• Took necessary precautions when China started reporting flu- cases in December. Singapore was ready with measures by the time WHO declared it as a pandemic.

• Conducts aggressive testing.

• People who test positive are

all kept in hospitals. Strict quarantine measures with location checks and punishment is harsh if violated. Even those with mild cases are kept in hospitals unlike US, Europe and Australia

• Home quarantine measures are also very strict - own bathroom, no visitors, no home members in too

• Focused on a strong and clear public awareness campaign through cartoons.

• Ensured that the communication and messages were strong enough to not let fear of the disease drive people’s

• First case reported – 20th January 2020

• Early realization of severity - corona test kits were being made after 1 week of first detection. Country makes more than 1, 00,000 kits a day.

• Opened 600 specialized testing centers that aren’t in regular hospitals and clinics. Test centers include drive-ins and walk-ins. Public messaging emphasized on testing and getting tested if anyone showed any symptom.

• Visitors from abroad had download an app that keeps track of their symptoms and movement.

• Public buildings use thermal image cameras.

• Restaurants check for temperature of all visitors before they were let in.

• When the number of cases started growing, cell phones were


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sanitizers and forehead thermometers to schools and after school institutions.

• Thermal thermometers were already installed in airports (during SARS), travelers had to report health and travel history through a QR Code to the Government. The Government strictly tracked these.

• People who had not travelled to the identified high-risk areas were sent a health declaration border pass through SMS for faster clearance.

• Those with travel history were quarantined at home and movement was tracked through mobile phones.

• Government does not ignore those who test negative. It monitors them as well to see if new cases emerge from close contacts.

• Fines are high for violating Quarantine measures.

imagination – especially those going into quarantine. The focus was on annihilating any stigma attached to the illness.

• Those who were not infected were allowed to work.

• The Prime Minister does regular press conferences with solid messaging. Plan of Action is also transparent and discussed with all people.

• Testing – o Started with people only

with travel history to Wuhan/ Hubei.

o Anyone who went to China in January.

o By end of January all public hospitals could test. Anyone coming to the hospital with a respiratory illness, anyone in contact with a covid 19 patient were tested.

o All Hospital staff even with a mild cold were tested.

o People in general suffering from a cold could get medical certificate with up to 5 days of stay at home as economic activity was not on halt.

o Casual workers were offered financial help.

altered with SMS whenever new cases were discovered in a region , where and infected person went, weather they had a mask on or not, etc. and encouraged people to get tested if they were around in the same place.

• People ordered into self-quarantine have to get an app which alters the officials if ventured out - huge fines if violated

• Health care measures - identified and treated patients early, segregated mild and severe ones, and ensured the fatality are kept rate low

• The health care system is nationalized and covers any costs related to the Covid-19

• Huge levels of public trust, despite privacy tradeoff.


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Other Measures Masks

The Centers of Disease Control, USA, WHO and many international bodies of the west had

been recommending the usage of masks to be limited to those who may have a cold/cough/

sneezing, taking care of a suspected COVID-19 patient, especially if a person is healthy. The

justification was rooted in shortage of supply of masks for health-care workers and front-

line workers. Their stance however changed in April, to one requiring everyone to wear

masks, not necessarily surgical or N95. However, lessons from East Asian Countries that

have flattened the curve indicate that everyone wearing a mask from the early days is a

huge contributor in containing the spread.

FIGURE 3: FLATTENING OF THE CURVE SOURCE: HUANG, 2020 SOURCE: (HUANG, 2020)

Effect of mitigating interventions that would decrease the initial reproduction rate R0 by

50% when implemented at day 25. Red curve is the course of numbers of infected

individuals (”case”) without intervention. Green curve reflects the changed (”flattened”)

curve after intervention. Day 0 (March 3, 2020) is the time at which 100 cases of infections

were confirmed (d100 = 0). The model is only for illustration and was performed in the

SEIR-model simulator (http://gabgoh.github.io/COVID/index.html). The non-intervention

model was fitted to these data points: a time period of twenty days in which the number

of cases in the United States has risen from 100 (d100=0) to 35,000 (d100=20). Standard

parameters were used (population size 330 M, Tinc=5.2 days, Tinf = 3.0 days but with the


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rather high value R0=5.6 in order to achieve the observed rate of increase of case numbers

in the U.S. The curves are redrawn not to scale. Source: (Huang, 2020)

Testing Kits Testing is an important cornerstone in terms of policy action to Covid-19 with availability

of testing kits available being an important crux. Countries with aggressive testing policy

along with extensive and testing early have been front runners in flattening the curve. In

fact, tests with robust disaggregated data in itself helps with better understanding of the

pandemic and steps that are needed to be taken. South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were

front runners in aggressive and early testing. South Korea, at the peak of the crisis was

testing 20,000 people a day and Korean companies are now making tests for at least

135000 people a day.


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Source: Our World In Data (Hasell, et al., 2020)

Singapore has authorized permission for using Rapid test kits, a 10-minute test with 95%

accuracy. A private company called Biolidics got a provisional authorization. It uses either

serum, plasma or whole blood samples. The rapid test kit is easy to use and can enable

more effective and efficient decentralized screening among suspected patients. For

instance, it can be deployed for the screening of suspected patients in scenarios like border

entry points or potential COVID-19 clusters.

Technology Innovative digital have emerged across countries. Access to telemedicine has been made

easier in France and the United States. Israel has introduced robotic devices and

telemedicine use to monitor the health status of quarantined people. Korea is trialling

smartphone applications to allow those in quarantine to report the evolution of their case

as well as to monitor their quarantine compliance. Artificial intelligence initiatives to track

the spread of the virus and predict where it may appear next have been developed in

Canada.

FIGURE 4: TOTAL TEST FOR COVID-19


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Control Material for Laboratory Tests

On 1st April 2020, Joint Research Center Scientists designed a new control material that

guarantees correct and harmonized functioning of laboratory tests . The material enhances

quality control detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19. This enables

verification of up to 60 million laboratory tests throughout the European Union. This

control material is fully compatible with the official WHO recommended methods applied

in the EU, Asia and the USA and can be used as a benchmark and validate numerous test

kits developed worldwide.i

FIGURE 5: NEW CONTROL MATERIAL FOR TESTING SARS-COV-2 Source: EU science hub updates

Vaccine Laboratories in many countries are already conducting tests that, it is hoped, will eventually

lead to a vaccine. In an attempt to corral these efforts, WHO brought together 400 of the

world’s leading researchers in February, to identify research priorities.

The agency launched a “Solidarity Trial”, an international clinical trial, involving 90

countries, to help find effective treatment. The aim is to rapidly discover whether any

existing drugs can slow the progression of the disease, or improve survival.

To better understand the virus, WHO has developed research protocols that are being used

in more than 40 countries, in a coordinated way, and some 130 scientists, funders and

manufacturers from around the world have signed a statement committing to work with

WHO to speed the development of a vaccine against COVID-19.ii


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Unique Global Policy Responses The following pages documents the fiscal, social and monetary policy response of various

countries to address the problems emerging due to spread of Covid-19. These countries are

chosen due to their clarity in their respective policy interventions as outlined in the

documents available in the public domain. This section is divided into two three segments,

o Fiscal & Social Policy Measures

The broad intervention areas chosen are Medium & Small Enterprises, Prevention of

Unemployment and quicker recovery, Migrant labour, Tourism and Healthcare.

o European Union’s additional measures for supporting member countries

o Monetary Policy Measures

To get a detailed overview of fiscal, social and monetary policy measures undertaken by the

countries, refer Annexure I.

Fiscal & Social Policy

Country(s) Policy

Framework

Policy

Instrument Policy Measure

MEDIUM & SMALL ENTERPRISES – Brazil, China, Italy, Singapore

Brazil Fiscal

Policy

Loans The Brazilian federal government has

postponed the collection of Simples

National tax for three months, which will

benefit 4.9 crore companies. The Income

Generation Program, with resources from

the Workers' Support Fund, will give R$5

billion to the public banks to grant loans to

micro and small companies.

The Federal government will also contribute

R$ 34 billion for small and medium-sized

Brazilian companies to retain their


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employees. Companies will not be able to

dismiss their employees without just cause

for a period of two months after obtaining

the funds. Companies will have 36 months

to repay (after the six-month grace period).iii

China Fiscal

Policy

Financial

Guarantee

Local government-controlled financing

guarantee and re-guarantee entities will

halve small and micro businesses' costs for

financing guarantee and re-guarantee

services in 2020 and further enlarge the

scale of services to small and micro firms as

well as agricultural and rural entities.iv

Italy Fiscal

Policy

Loans and

Guarantee Fund

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the

Bank of Italy, the Banking Association

Italiana and Medio-Credito Centrale (MCC)

have set up a task force to offer loans for

micro businesses, SMEs, professionals and

sole proprietorships. The guarantee fund

has been strengthened and expanded to

make the process faster and easier.v

Singapore Fiscal

Policy

Payment

Deferment

Working capital loans will be further

enhanced from 1 April 2020 to 31 March

2021. Small and medium sized enterprises

may defer payments on secured term loans

up to 31 December 2020. Banks and finance

companies may apply for low cost funding

which can lower the interest rates to SME

borrowers.


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PREVENTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT & QUICKER RECOVERY – Germany, Brazil, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Singapore

Germany Fiscal

Policy

Credit Subsidies State credit and subsidy program of over

750 billion euros for the self-employed,

small employers and large corporations.

Special programs that help employees pay

rent and maintain benefits have been put

into place. This policy is referred to as

Kurzarbeit or the short time system, which

proved highly successful during the Great

Recession of 2008-2012. It is being used to

prevent a wave of unemployment. The

system allows companies to pause the

employment of workers, who then get up to

67 percent of their wages paid by the state

unemployment agency.

Once the crisis is over, these same workers

are entitled to return to their old jobs at

their former salaries. Companies can

ultimately get back to work quickly because

they can rely on an experienced workforce

and do not need to look for and train new

staff.vi

Brazil Fiscal

Policy

Credit Line The Federal Government announced

measures to help businesses, which

includes an emergency credit line for

companies with revenues between R $360

thousand and R $10 million. The measure

will finance two months of payroll and at R

$ 20 billion (₹ 29.71 crores) per month,


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totalling R $40 billion at the end of the

period.

The government has enacted provisional

measure no. 927 for employers to preserve

jobs during the crisis. Measures such as

remote working, anticipation of individual

vacations, granting of collective vacations,

use and anticipation of holidays,

compensatory hours, suspension of

administrative requirements in

occupational safety and health and the

deferral of payment of the Guarantee Fund

for Seniority may be adopted by

employers.vii

Lithuania Fiscal

Policy

Income Support

Program

Lithuania Government extends support for

downtime and partial downtime to be

made available: employee allowance no

less than a minimum monthly wage

(MMW), State funds will account for 60%

but no more than one MMW. It is also

intended to extend the provisions of the

Artists Social Security Programme and to

allocate additional funds for its

implementation. It is also planned to

allocate funds for the self-employed who

have paid social security contributions: to

pay EUR 257 a month for up to 3 months

when they are unable to carry out their

activities due to quarantine, and to provide

a state guarantee to extend the deferred

period from 3 to 6 months for mortgage


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payments (excluding interest) for those

who have lost their jobs.viii

Czech

Republic

Fiscal

Policy

Income Support

Program

Czech government will pay out (through the

respective employers) 60% of the average

contribution base to employees affected by

the quarantine. The government will

support employers who continue, despite

their businesses being shut down, to pay out

100% of the salaries to affected employees

by covering 80% of salary costs.

For supply chain interruptions that are

crucial for an employer and if the employer

still pays at least 80 % compensation to their

employees, the state will contribute 50% of

the compensation. If a business is hit by

significantly lowered demand on services

and the employer pays at least 60%

compensation, the state will contribute by

50% of the compensation.ix

Singapore Fiscal Social

Policy

Payouts,

Income Support,

Subsidies

The authorities have announced 3 packages

of measures on February 18, March 26, and

April 6, amounting to a total stimulus of

S$59.9 billion (12.2 percent of GDP). Funds

to contain the outbreak are about S$800

million (mainly to the Ministry of Health).

The Care and Support Package provides

support to households (S$ 5.7 billion),

including a cash payout to all Singaporeans,

and additional payments for lower-income

individuals and the unemployed. The

Stabilization and Support Package provides


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support to businesses (about S$31.5 billion),

including wage subsidies, an enhancement

of financing schemes, and additional

support for industries directly affected and

the self-employed. It also sets aside loan

capital of S$20 billion and introduces other

economic resilience measures (S$1.9

billion).

MIGRANT LABOUR – Portugal, Maldives, Lebanon

Portugal Social

Policy

Citizenship The Portuguese Council of Ministers has

decided to temporarily grant all migrants

and asylum seekers currently in the country

full citizenship rights. The move has been

taken in order to permit these categories to

have full access to the country's healthcare

as the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus

escalates in the country, and therefore

reduce the risks for public health. According

to the Portuguese Council of Ministers, the

move will unequivocally guarantee the

rights of all the foreign citizens that have

pending applications submitted at the

Portuguese immigration office until June 30,

as these persons are “in a situation of

regular permanence in National Territory.”x

Maldives Social

Policy

Welfare Access There are about 100,000 migrant workers in

the Maldives, mostly from Bangladesh,

making up roughly 25 percent of the islands’

total population.


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The government has established a

dedicated COVID-19 clinic for migrant

workers on Hulhumale island, near the

capital, Malé, which does not require them

to show work permits or other

documentation.xi

Lebanon Social

Policy

Welfare Access The cabinet of Ministers would

distribute 400,000 Lebanese pounds (about

US$150 at current market rates) to the

poorest families and 75 billion Lebanese

pounds (around $28 million) for nutrition

and sanitary assistance. The Lebanese Food

Bank, for example, funded entirely by

donations, sends boxes containing basic

food items and hygiene kits that can last a

family of four for up to one month to 85

nongovernmental organizations. These

organizations distribute the boxes to

vulnerable families that they have identified

across the country. Other initiatives are

providing medicine, rent money, blankets,

and clothing to families who need them. The

government has asked families seeking

coronavirus-related relief to apply for aid

via municipalities.xii

HEALTHCARE – Lithuania, S.Korea, EU, Germany, Ukraine, Portugal, Singapore

Lithuania Fiscal Social

Measure

Procurement The Lithuania Government has allocated

amounts from the collective EUR 500

Million to ensure necessary resources for

the efficient operation of health and public


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security systems with focus on purchasing

personal protective equipment, reagents,

medical and other equipment, staff bonus

payments and additional social guarantees

for health care workers and officials. In

addition, funds will be made available for

additional funding for public authorities

involved in emergency management,

including employee bonus payments. It

also provides solutions for quicker and

simpler public procurement.

South

Korea

Fiscal Social

Measure

Procurement South Korea unveiled a KRW11.7 trillion

(US$9.8 billion) supplementary budget, part

of which is targeting greater disease control

efforts, health services and quarantine

needs.

European

Union

Fiscal Social

Measure

Procurement To directly support healthcare systems in EU

countries, the European Commission

proposed to activate the EU’s Emergency

Support Instrument – a measure that that

Council quickly approved on 14 April. The

€2.7 billion Instrument will support the

distribution of protective gear, the

movement of patients to hospitals with free

capacity, and to the development of

medication and testing methods. The

instrument will be used together with other

EU tools, for example the rescEU medical

stockpile, which is receiving €300 million in

addition to the initially proposed allocation

of €80 million, to support the distribution of


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medical equipment across the EU. It will also

be possible for individuals, foundations and

Member States to make donations and

crowd fund.

Germany Fiscal Social

Measure

Procurement

Surveillance

The government has promised financial

bonuses to hospitals that are able to

increase and maintain intensive care beds.

Furthermore, hospitals with capacity

constraints need to know to which hospitals

they can transfer patients. To this aim the

Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German

Hospital Association (DKG) and the German

Association of Intensive and Emergency

Care (DIVI) have set up a website, where

each hospital is asked to update dally their

available capacity for intensive care with

respiratory support. On a regional level this

platform is expected to assist doctors in

quickly identifying alternative places for

treatment. In addition, the costs of the

COVID-19tests are covered by the Statutory

Health Insurance (SHI) when recommended

by a doctor. The SHI pay EUR59 per test as

agreed between SHI funds and provider

representative in the context of the self-

governing structures. Patients who are not

deemed in need for testing may still

purchase tests privately at a higher price.

Ukraine Fiscal Social

Measure

Income Support

Tax Rebate

Parliament has also approved a top-up of

300 percent of the salary for medical

personnel working with COVID-19 patients.


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To support households, parliament has

adopted legislation that allows households

to deduct the expense of COVID-19

medicine from the calculation of personal

income tax. Medicines, medical devices and

other equipment used to prevent or combat

COVID-19 have been exempt from import

duties and VAT. The government has also

announced the creation of a temporary

stand-alone budgetary program under the

Finance Ministry to fight the pandemic. This

program allows for a greater flexibility in the

reallocation of funds to quickly

accommodate changing priorities.xiii

TOURISM

Portugal Fiscal and

Social

Policy

Credit Line

Social Security

The Government has placed particular

emphasis on the Travel & Tourism sector by

establishing a dedicated €60 million credit

line for micro-businesses in the sector and

by working closely with Turismo de Portugal

to bolster national capacity to respond to

the challenges resulting from COVID-19.

Specifically for micro-enterprises in the

tourism sector, extraordinary support for

the maintenance of employment contracts

in a company in the amount of 2/3 of the

remuneration, and ensuring 70% of Social

Security, the remainder being borne by the

employer, offering of training scholarships

in the Institute for Employment and


Page | 23

Vocational Training in Portugal (IEFP) and

extending the deadlines for payment of

taxes and other declarative obligations.xiv

Singapore Fiscal Social

Policy

Income Support

Tax Rebate

Qualifying licensed hotels, qualifying

licensed travel agents, qualifying gated

tourist attractions, cruise lines and cruise

terminal operators, and purpose-built MICE

venue operators will receive enhanced

support under the Jobs Support Scheme to

cover 75% of gross monthly wages, per

Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident

employee, up to a monthly wage cap of

$4,600. Qualifying commercial properties,

including hotels, serviced apartments,

tourist attractions, prescribed MICE venues,

and international cruise and regional ferry

terminals, will enjoy a property tax rebate of

100%.


Page | 24

EUROPEAN UNION ADDITIONAL POLICY MEASURES TO SUPPORT MEMBER COUNTRIES

• Significant public resources are directed to strengthen the healthcare sector and civil

protection mechanisms and to support affected workers and economic sectors. To date,

the aggregate amount of Member States’ discretionary fiscal measures amounts to 3% of

EU GDP, a threefold increase since 16 March, on top of the significant impact of automatic

stabilisers.

• Member States have so far committed to provide liquidity support for sectors facing

disruptions and companies facing liquidity shortages, consisting of public guarantee

schemes and deferred tax payments, which are estimated at 16% of EU GDP on 2nd April,

up from 10% on 16 March.

• Specific temporary state-aid framework to expedite public support to companies, while

ensuring the necessary level playing field in the Single Market as well as the recent

extension of the framework to cover support for research, testing and production relevant

in the fight against the COVID 19 pandemic as of 1st April.

• The proposal for a Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative was approved by the

European Parliament and the Council and is in force as of the 1st of April. This will allow

the use of EUR 37 billion under cohesion policy to address the consequences of the COVID-

19 crisis. In addition, the scope of the Solidarity Fund was broadened to include major

public health crises. Starting from the 1st of April, this allows the hardest hit Member

States to get access to financial support of up to EUR 800 million in 2020.

• Proposals regarding the further temporary flexibility in the use of EU funds, such as

allowing transfers between funds, regions and policy objectives, abandoning national co-

financing requirements and supporting vulnerable members of society. This will help to

mobilise effectively the EU budget to face the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Dedicated COVID-19 instrument to support the financing of emergency aid, through the

provision of grants, is necessary, to first and foremost reinforce our healthcare systems.

Proposed on 2 April to re-activate the Emergency Support Instrument in the context of

the COVID-19 outbreak.


Page | 25

• EIB Group to create a pan-European guarantee fund of EUR 25 billion, which could support

EUR 200 billion of financing for companies with a focus on SMEs, throughout the EU,

including through national promotional banks.

• Commission proposal of 2 April to set-up a temporary instrument supporting Member

States to protect employment in the specific emergency circumstances of the COVID-19

crisis. It would provide financial assistance during the time of the crisis, in the form of

loans granted on favourable terms from the EU to Member States, of up to EUR 100 billion

in total, building on the EU budget as much as possible, while ensuring sufficient capacity

for Balance of Payments support, and on guarantees provided by Member States to the

EU budget. The instrument could primarily support the efforts to protect workers and

jobs, while respecting the national competences in the field of social security systems, and

some health-related measures.

• Recovery Fund to prepare and support the recovery, providing funding through the EU

budget to programmes designed to kick-start the economy in line with European priorities

and ensuring EU solidarity with the most affected member states.xvxvi


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Monetary Measures

DENMARK

The Denmark’s National Bank (DN) activated the standing swap line (another term for a

temporary reciprocal currency arrangement between central banks. That means they agree

to keep a supply of their country's currency available to trade to another central bank at the

going exchange rate) doubled its size to EUR 24 billion. It will remain in place as long as

needed. The DN announced the launch of an ‘extraordinary lending facility’ which will make

full-allotment, 1-week, collateralized loans available to banks at -0.5 percent interest rate. xvii

Advantages: longer-term refinancing with unchanged interest rates which provides

immediate liquidity support, stability of domestic and foreign financial markets,

recipient central banks gain foreign currency in addition to existing foreign reserves,

and reduction in pressure on the major currencies to appreciate.

CZECH REPUBIC

The Czech National Bank (CNB) revisited its countercyclical capital buffer rate (intended to

protect the banking sector against losses that could be caused by cyclical systemic risks which

requires banks to add capital at times when credit is growing rapidly so that the buffer can be

reduced when the financial cycle turns) for exposures located in the Czech Republic at 1.75

percent. The CNB is considering to, if certain conditions are met, allow banks to delay loan

payments by up to 5 months without requiring (i) the immediate reclassification of loans as

non-performing and (ii) banks to update the respective clients' credit rating in the credit

registry.xviii

Advantages: to build up adequate capital and liquidity buffers to absorb losses,

continue lending, contain financial downswing, relief on loan payments.

KENYA

The Kenyan Central Bank (1) lowered its policy rate from 8.25 percent to 7.25 percent; (2)

lowered banks’ cash reserve ratio from 5.25 percent to 4.25 percent; (3) increased the


Page | 27

maximum tenor of repurchase agreements from 28 to 91 days; and (4) announced flexibility

to banks regarding loan reclassification and provisioning for loans that were performing on

March 2, 2020, but were restructured due to the pandemic. The central bank has also

encouraged banks to extend flexibility to borrowers’ loan terms based on pandemic-related

circumstances and encouraged the waiving or reducing of charges on mobile money

transactions to disincentivize the use of cash.xixxx

Advantages: boosting liquidity and support commercial banks with cash that they can

lend to various borrowers, incentives to banks to avoid increasing lending rate and,

cushion Kenyans from adverse debt payments (28% of lending comprises of personal

loans).

SRILANKA

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) lowered the required reserve ratio on domestic currency

deposits of commercial banks by one percentage point to ease liquidity conditions. The

President has also announced a wide-ranging debt repayment moratorium, which includes a

six month moratorium on bank loans for the tourism, garment, plantation and IT sectors,

related logistics providers, and small & medium size industries, with reduced rate working

capital loans for these sectors. There will also be a six month moratorium on leasing loans for

three-wheelers, and a three-month moratorium on small-value personal banking and leasing

loans. The interest rate on credit cards will be capped, for transactions up to a certain amount,

with a reduction in the minimum monthly repayment. In addition, the President has

announced that state-owned financial institutions will invest in treasury bonds and bills to

stabilize the money market interest rate at 7 percent.xxi

Advantages: increased liquidity, relief on personal loans payment for specific sectors

and debt moratoriums to the self-employed.


Page | 28

International Organizations

World Health Organization

WHO, for its work to track the spread of the virus, assess gaps and needs, equips frontline

health workers with personal protective equipment, ensures lab and testing tools are

available in countries around the world, and keep communities and frontline responders

informed with the latest technical guidance.xxii

• Strictly recommended that countries intensify surveillance for "unusual outbreaks of

influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia and monitor carefully the evolution of

COVID-19 outbreaks, reinforcing epidemiological surveillance."

• On 2nd March, WHO experts lands in Iran to support the outbreak response with

technical assistance, bringing medical supplies and protective equipment for over

15,000 health care workers and enough laboratory kits to test nearly 100,000 people.

• The health agency’s six regional offices, and 150 country offices, work closely with

governments around the world to prepare their health systems. With partners, WHO

set up the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, to ensure patients get the care they

need, and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and to accelerate

research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them.

• WHO has shipped more than two million items of personal protective equipment to

133 countries, and is preparing to ship another two million items in the coming

weeks. More than a million diagnostic tests have been dispatched to 126 countries,

in all regions, and more are being sourced. WHO is working with the International

Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum, and others in the private sector,

to ramp up the production and distribution of essential medical supplies. On 8 April,

WHO launched a “UN COVID-19 Supply Chain Task Force”, which aims to

dramatically increase the supply of essential protective equipment where it is

needed.xxiii

• WHO is aiming to train millions of health workers, via its OpenWHO platform. more

than 1.2 million people have enrolled in 43 languages. Countries are also being

supported by experts, deployed around the world by the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert

and Response Network (GOARN)xxiv


Page | 29

United Nations

• Released $15 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to WHO and UNICEF

to support vulnerable countries in areas including monitoring the spread of COVID-19,

investigating cases, and operating national laboratories.

• Committed $37 million from the Emergency Reserve Fund for Contagious Infectious

Diseases. xxv

International Monetary Fund • Double access to emergency facilities and a $100 billion in financing available.

• Continuous review of their tool kit to update use of credit lines and additional liquidity

support to establish short-term liquidity line and other options to meet countries

financing needs.

• Revamped the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to provide immediate debt

relief to low-income countries, catering to urgent health needs. IMF is also providing

emergency assistance to member countries approved by the IMF’s Executive Board

under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF), Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), and

augmentation of existing financing arrangements, as well as debt relief grants

financed by the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT).xxvi

Asian Development Bank • Approved a $20 billion funding and other measures to streamline its operations for

quicker and more flexible delivery of assistance. This involves helping member

countries counter severe macroeconomic and health impacts and included $2.5 billion

in concessional and grant resources.

• Package will establish COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option under ADB’s

countercyclical support facility, with particular focus on the poor and vulnerable and

grant resources will continue to be deployed for providing medical and personal

protective equipment and supplies for expanded procurement sources.

• Additional $2 billion will be made available to private sector, including loan and

guarantee to the financial institutions. Enhanced support to liquidity starved small and

medium size enterprises, especially those run by women.

• This support is closely collaborated with IMF, WB, WHO, UNICEF and other UN

agencies.xxvii


Page | 30

KfW DEVELOPMENT BANK • Implemented a fast-track aid programme for the Federal Ministry for Economic

Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to help countries fight the pandemic and

continue supporting the health sector. Includes helping the East and West African

countries prepare their laboratory capacity to handle coronavirus. In addition to

increased support for the financial sector, small and medium-sized enterprises and

socio-economic stabilisation programmes.

• Due to rising economic and financial demand throughout Germany and Europe, as one

of the relief measures of KfW’s relief programs, all the existing programs will be

expanded. Loans shall be provided in line with categorizations of size, business

experience and financial health such as corporate loans, loans for growth, founder

loan, etc for big, small and midsize companies and, distressed companies. xxviii


Page | 31

Summary As of 13th April, the confirmed cases of COVID-19 have exceeded 1.9 million. With increased

restrictions in economic activity, movements and finding alternatives for keeping the markets

stable amidst the economic shock globally, excessive economic support has been seen

worldwide among unions, countries, agencies, businesses and individuals. One of the largest

components of fiscal support is in the form of financing and crisis-related discretionary

measures towards provisioning healthcare, increasing liquidity and protection against

income loss. The following graph illustrates G20 countries fiscal response to COVID-19.

FIGURE 6: G20 COUNTRIES FISCAL RESPONSE TO COVID-19 Source: (Center for Statigic and Intenational Studies, 2020)

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

$1,400

$1,600

$1,800

$2,000

$2,200

$2,400

Fiscal Respone to Covid-19G20 Countries

Government Spending (USD Billion) Credit Enhancement(USD Billion)

Tax Reilef(USD Billion) Total(USD Billion)

Unspecified Total Fiscal Response as % of GDP


Page | 32

Takeaways from the Globe

MEASURES

ADOPTED

GLOBALLY TO

FIGHT COVID-19

Credit and subsidy programme for the unemployed;

Part payment of wages and social security contribution by the State for the next 2-3

months;

Direct cash transfer and additional payments for lower-income individuals and the

unemployed,

Unemployment benefits due to job loss.

Small businesses and MSMEs - enhancing cash flow,

Rolling out of loan guarantee schemes – Government to

guarantee all or part of the value of bank loans;

Loans at subsidized rates or interest free loans;

Deferral of tax payments;

Relaxed norms of credit line to incentivize, MSMEs

willing to retain employees.

Full Portability of welfare rights;

Dedicated living and food arrangements for all;

Direct Cash Transfer.

Temporary stand-alone budgetary program under the Finance Ministry;

Allocation for disease control efforts, health services (including procurement of PPEs) and

quarantine needs;

Financial bonuses to hospitals that are able to increase and maintain intensive care beds;

Salary incentive to health care workers engaged with Covid-19;

Medicines, medical devices and other equipment exempted from import duties and VAT;

Invest in R&D for Covid-19 research on vaccines and rapid testing kits;

International cooperation and minimizing import duties on covid-19 related essentials.

Incentive to tourism agencies to retain the staff;

Part payment of wages and social security programmes;

Qualifying commercial properties, including hotels, service

apartments, tourist attractions, prescribed MICE venue etc.

given property tax rebate of 100%.

Longer-term refinancing with unchanged interest rates to

provide immediate liquidity support/buffer/ boost;

Purchasing major foreign currency avoiding drastic

appreciation;

Continue lending and relief on loan re-payment;

Invest in treasury bonds & bills to stabilize the market

interest.

MSME

UNEMPLOYMENT

MIGRANT LABOUR

HEALTHCARE

TOURISM

MARKET STABILITY


Page | 33

Annexure I

Country Specific Policy Measures

S. No Country Fiscal Measures Monetary and Macro-Financial

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina

The entity governments have allocated around KM 50 million (0.15 percent of GDP) for dealing with COVID-19, including purchasing medical equipment and supplies. FBIH will transfer KM 30 million (0.1 percent of GDP) to hospitals. RS announced the health fund will cover health care costs for all patients and has postponed payments for business tax from end-March to end-June, while speeding up tax and SSC refunds. FBIH announced that total amount about KM 1 billion (3% of GDP) will be secured to support the economy, through: (1) setting up a special fund to stabilize the economy, mainly aimed at supporting exporting companies; (2) establishing a guarantee fund which will be serve to maintain and improve the liquidity of companies, and (3) tasking the Development Bank to establish a credit line for improving the liquidity of companies.

Banking Agencies have announced a six-month loan repayment moratorium for restructuring credit arrangements for individuals and legal entities which are found to have aggravated circumstances for loans repayments due to COVID-19. Banking Agencies have instructed banks to track clients and exposure portfolios affected by COVID-19. Banks are also instructed to consider additional customer relief, including reviewing current fees for services and avoiding charging fees to handle exposure modifications.

2 Brazil To mitigate the impact of COVID-19, the authorities announced a package of fiscal measures adding up to 3½ percent of GDP—mostly reallocations within the 2020 budget. With congress declaring a state of “public calamity” on March 20, the government’s obligation to comply with the primary balance target in 2020 has been lifted. The government has also invoked the escape clause of the constitutional expenditure ceiling to accommodate exceptional health spending needs. The fiscal measures include temporary income support to vulnerable households (bringing forward the 13th pension payment to retirees,

The central bank lowered the policy rate (SELIC) by 50bps a historical low of 3.75 percent. Measures to increase liquidity in the financial system (reduction of reserve requirements and capital conservation buffers, and a temporary relaxation of provisioning rules, among others) have been implemented. The reserve requirement has been reduced from 25 to 17, on top of a reduction of 6 bps in early March. The central bank also opened a facility to provide loans to financial institutions backed by private corporate bonds as collateral. In addition, the Fed has arranged to provide up to US$60 billion to the central bank through a swap facility that will remain in place for


Page | 34

expanding the Bolsa Familia program with the inclusion of over 1 million more beneficiaries, cash transfers to informal and unemployed workers, and advance payments of salary bonuses to low income workers), temporary tax breaks and credit lines for firms with the aim of protecting employment, lower taxes and import levies on essential medical supplies, and new transfers from the federal to state governments to support higher health spending and as cushion against the expected fall in revenues. A plan assist states and municipalities with a temporary stay of debt payments, debt renegotiation, and support for credit operations through government guarantees was also announced. Public banks are expanding credit lines for businesses and households, with a focus on supporting working capital (credit lines add up to over 2½ percent of GDP). The National Treasury responded to pressures in the interest rate futures market by announcing a program for the simultaneous auctions (buying and selling) of government securities.

the next six months. The five largest banks in the country agreed to consider requests by individuals and SMEs for a 60-day extension of their maturing debt liabilities. Exchange Rate & Balance of Payments The exchange rate has depreciated by close to 15 percent since mid-February and by 21 percent since end-2019. The central bank has intervened various times in the foreign exchange market over the last three weeks (both with spot and derivative contracts sales), by a total of nearly 22 USD billion (6 percent of gross reserves). The central bank is resuming repo operations of Brazilian sovereign bonds denominated in US dollars, which could potentially release US$10 billion into the money market.

3 Czech Republic The government announced a fiscal package of CZK 100bn (€3.7bn, 2 percent of GDP). While details are being determined, the measures will likely include income support of 60 percent of gross wages of employees sent into quarantine and up to 80 percent of gross wages of employees of businesses, that had to close because of containment requirements. The government further granted a credit line for businesses through the state development bank (CMZRB) of CZK 10bn and further pledged CZK 900bn (EUR 33.3bn, 16 percent of GDP) in guarantees. Advance payments on personal and corporate income tax are waived for Q2 2020, as are penalties for failing to pay property tax and file tax returns on time.

The Czech National Bank (CNB) lowered the policy rate by 50 bps to 1.75 percent on March 16 and increased the frequency of repo operations from one to three times a week. It has also revisited its earlier decision adopted in May 2019 to increase the countercyclical capital buffer rate for exposures located in the Czech Republic to 2% with effect from 1 July 2020, leaving it at 1.75 percent. The CNB is considering to, if certain conditions are met, allow banks to delay loan repayments by up to 5 months without requiring (i) the immediate reclassification of loans as non-performing and (ii) banks to update the respective clients' credit rating in the credit registry.

4 Denmark The authorities responded to the ongoing crisis by providing discretionary fiscal support to the tune of 2.5 percent of GDP

The Denmark’s National Bank (DN) increased the policy rate by 15bps to -0.6 percent. The standing swap line with ECB was


Page | 35

(about DKK 60 billion). The increased spending will mainly finance additional health care needs and extraordinary budgetary measures to support workers and businesses. Another 2.5 percent of GDP in countercyclical support is expected to come through Denmark’s strong automatic stabilizers—including from weaker tax receipts and higher social benefits. Temporary liquidity measures, including postponement of tax payments and government guarantees, will further support activity in the first half of year.

activated and its size was doubled to EUR 24 billion. It will remain in place as long as needed. In addition, the DN reached an agreement with the Federal Reserve to establish a USD 30 billion swap line that will stand for at least 6 months. The DN announced the launch of an ‘extraordinary lending facility’ which will make full-allotment, 1-week, collateralized loans available to banks at -0.5 percent interest rate on March 20. The DN on March 19, 2020 expanded this facility to include 3-month variable rate loans which will be available March 27, 2020. The DN also increased the interest rate on the previously announced 1-week loans to -0.35 percent. The Danish authorities decided on March 12, 2020 to pre-emptively release the countercyclical capital buffer and cancel the planned increases meant to take effect later. The Financial Stability Authority also announced a case by case relaxation of regulation on the LCR requirement.

5 Finland Key discretionary tax and spending measures (about 0.7 percent of GDP) include additional spending for (i): healthcare and testing, protection and medical equipment, public safety and border controls, and research on the coronavirus epidemic, in particular to develop methods for rapid diagnostics and vaccines and a knowledge base for timely decision-making on coronavirus measures, (especially on the exit strategy) (€200 million); (ii) lower pension contributions through the remainder of 2020 (€900 million); (iii) grants to SMEs through Business Finland and the Employment Centres (€200 million); and (iv) other possible emergencies (€200 million). In addition to discretionary measures, automatic stabilizers are expected to increase the fiscal deficit significantly, including through an expansion of the coverage of existing unemployment benefits. Deferral of tax and pension payments for 3 months are expected to provide additional short-run relief of €3-4.5 billion. Finland is also

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In


Page | 36

contributing €5 million to international non-profit companies working on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the countercyclical buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans (NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; and recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions. Furthermore, the ECB recommends that banks opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. Key measures within Finland include: (i) Bank of Finland to support liquidity through investing in short-term Finnish corporate commercial paper (€1 billion); (ii) 1 ppt reduction in the structural buffer requirements of all credit institutions by removing the systemic risk buffer and adjusting institution-specific requirements (increases Finnish banks’ international lending capacity by an estimated €52 billion – that, plus other countries’ measures, increase lending capacity to Finnish households and firms by an estimated €30 billion); (iii) Finland’s Export Credit Agency is expanding its lending and guarantee capacity to SMEs by €10 billion (and the government will increase its coverage of the agency’s credit and guarantee losses from 50 to 80 percent); (iv) the State Pension Fund will also invest in commercial paper (€1 billion); and (v) easier re-borrowing of pension contributions allowed.

6 Guatemala For COVID-19 mitigation, the government is drawing on emergency budgetary reserves (about US$60 million) and seeking Congress approval of the World Bank Disaster Risk Management DPL (US$200 million, 0.3% of GDP). A facility for coronavirus patients (financed through a US$1 million grant

On March 19th, Banco de Guatemala lowered its policy rate by 50 basis points to 2.25 percent and announced that it stands ready to secure liquidity provision facilities, including by acting as lender of last resort. To support the financial sector, the Monetary Board has temporarily eased (180-day period) credit


Page | 37

from the Central American Bank of Economic Integration) will add 3,000 beds to the existing capacity (350 beds). A National Emergency and Economic Recovery Plan and a supplementary budget for a fiscal impulse of 1.2% of GDP are being discussed in Congress. Key measures announced to support the economy include streamlined tax credit refunds to exporters (freeing up to 0.2 percent of GDP), a one- quarter deferral of selective tax payments and social security contributions, a guarantee fund for SMEs, and expanded social housing.

risk management regulations to enable loan restructuring, loan payments moratorium, and the use of generic provisions.

7 Iceland A package of fiscal measures of ISK 230 billion krona (7.8 percent of GDP) has been submitted to parliament to ease the strain on households and firms and, looking forward, to help the economy recover. Key measures to support households and firms include tax cuts, tax deferrals, increased unemployment benefits, one-off child allowances, support to companies whose employees have been quarantined, and state-guaranteed bridge loans to companies. Key measures to restart the economy (1.1 percent of GDP) include public investment, tax incentives for real estate improvement, temporary tax relief for the tourism sector, and marketing efforts to encourage domestic tourism.

The Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) has provided monetary support and has taken measures to preserve financial stability. Since the outbreak, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has cut policy rates by 100 basis points to 1.75 percent and reduced deposit institutions’ average reserve requirements point to 1 from 2 percent to ease their liquidity positions by about 1 percent of GDP. To further enhance banks’ liquidity, the public Housing Financing Fund will transfer its deposits from the CBI to commercial banks (about ISK30 billion, or 1 percent of GDP). The CBI Financial Stability Committee reduced the countercyclical capital buffer from 2 percent to 0 percent, providing scope for banks to increase lending by ISK 350 billion (12 percent of GDP).

8 Iran Key measures include (i.) the disbursement of cash payments (USD 14-40) to 1.5 million poor households from March to June 2020; (ii.) extra funding for the National Committee on COVID-19, Tehran and other provinces (0.06 percent of GDP); and (iii.) refurbishing of schools in order to limit the spread of the virus. The government has also announced low interest rate loans and funds to cover employers’ insurance for affected businesses, lending facilities for 4 million laid-off employees in firms disrupted by the virus and a three-month

The Central Bank of Iran has (i.) announced the allocation of funds (0.06 percent of GDP) to import medicine; (ii.) agreed with commercial banks that they postpone by three months the repayment of loans due in February 2020; (iii.) offered temporary penalty waivers for customers with non-performing loans; and (iv.) expanded contactless payments and increased the limits for bank transactions in order to reduce the circulation of banknotes and the exchange of debit cards.


Page | 38

extension of the deadlines for tax payments. Sukuk bonds (0.5 percent of GDP) will provide part of the financing.

9 Kenya The Central Bank of Iran has (i.) announced the allocation of funds (0.06 percent of GDP) to import medicine; (ii.) agreed with commercial banks that they postpone by three months the repayment of loans due in February 2020; (iii.) offered temporary penalty waivers for customers with non-performing loans; and (iv.) expanded contactless payments and increased the limits for bank transactions in order to reduce the circulation of banknotes and the exchange of debit cards.

On March 24, the central bank (1) lowered its policy rate by 100 bps to 7.25 percent; (2) lowered banks’ cash reserve ratio by 100 bps to 4.25 percent; (3) increased the maximum tenor of repurchase agreements from 28 to 91 days; and (4) announced flexibility to banks regarding loan classification and provisioning for loans that were performing on March 2, 2020, but were restructured due to the pandemic. The central bank has also encouraged banks to extend flexibility to borrowers’ loan terms based on pandemic-related circumstances and encouraged the waiving or reducing of charges on mobile money transactions to disincentivize the use of cash.

10 Lebanon On March 24, the central bank (1) lowered its policy rate by 100 bps to 7.25 percent; (2) lowered banks’ cash reserve ratio by 100 bps to 4.25 percent; (3) increased the maximum tenor of repurchase agreements from 28 to 91 days; and (4) announced flexibility to banks regarding loan classification and provisioning for loans that were performing on March 2, 2020, but were restructured due to the pandemic. The central bank has also encouraged banks to extend flexibility to borrowers’ loan terms based on pandemic-related circumstances and encouraged the waiving or reducing of charges on mobile money transactions to disincentivize the use of cash.

The Banque Du Liban (BDL) issued circular 547, allowing banks and financial institutions to extend exceptional five-year zero percent interest rate loans in Lebanese Pounds and in dollars to customers that already have credit facilities but are unable to meet their obligations, operating expenses, or pay the salaries to their employees during March, April and May 2020 as a result of the interruption of activity due to the COVID-19. BDL will in turn provide banks and financial institutions five-year zero percent interest rate credit lines in dollars equivalent to the value of exceptional loans granted.

11 Republic of Lithuania

The government has announced an overall fiscal package of 2.5 billion euros (5 percent of GDP). Within this amount, spending measures by the General Government amounts to 1.1 billion euros (2.3 percent of GDP) which includes (i) additional funds for the healthcare system and emergency management (500 million euros), (ii) additional funds for caring for the sick and disabled, including for parents of

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further


Page | 39

school children who now need to stay home, and support for the self-employed (550 million euros), and (iii) co-financing of climate change investment projects (about 20 percent of 250 million euros). In addition, the government expanded guarantee schemes, including guarantees for agricultural as well as SME loans by around 1.3 billion euros (2.6 percent of GDP). Finally, the government increased the borrowing limit by 5 billion euros (10 percent of GDP).

measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the countercyclical buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans (NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; and recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions. Furthermore, the ECB recommends that banks opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. In addition to policies from the ECB, the Bank of Lithuania has lowered its counter-cyclical capital buffer from 1 to 0 percent (effective April 1) and has encouraged to be flexible and negotiate, on a case-by-case basis, loan terms with borrowers if necessary (within the existing regulatory framework).

12 Maldives To minimize the economic impact of the COVID–19 virus, the authorities announced on March 20 an Economic Recovery Plan of 2.5 Billion rufiyaa (2.8 percent of GDP). Under the plan, the Government of Maldives will (i) reduce recurrent expenditure by 1 billion rufiyaa (1.1 percent of GDP); (ii)

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has been in close contact with the banks to discuss the impact on the domestic financial system and has identified the measures that can be taken through the financial institutions to reduce economic disruptions and loss of jobs and output. The announced


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increase the amount of funds allocated for the health sector; (iii) subsidize 40 percent of electricity bills and 30 percent of water bills for the months of April and May; and (iv) ensure through banks, availability of working capital to businesses. At the same time, the government intends to continue public sector investment program (PSIP) projects as planned.

measures include: (i) reduction of the minimum required reserves up to 5 percent as and when required; (ii) making available a short-term credit facility to financial institutions as and when required; (iii) introducing regulatory measures to enable a moratorium of 6 months on loan repayments for those impacted by the current situation (customers have to submit their requests to the banks in order to avail themselves of this moratorium).

13 Netherlands A package of fiscal measures was announced to contain the economic impact of the outbreak. The package includes spending measures of about 10-20 billion euros (1-2 percent of GDP) in the next three months, and covering (i) compensation of up to 90 percent of labor costs for companies expecting a reduction in revenues of 20 percent or more; (ii) compensation for affected sectors (hospitality, travel, and others); (iii) support for entrepreneurs and the self-employed; (iv) scaling up of the short-time working scheme (unemployment benefit compensation available to companies needing to reduce their staff by at least 20 percent). In addition, companies can defer tax payments without penalties, and calculate provisional taxes on the basis of expected reduced activity levels. Also, public guarantee schemes, especially for SME loans, are expanded to help the most vulnerable companies to manage their liquidity problems. The total cost of these programs will depend on demand.

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the countercyclical buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans


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(NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; and recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions. Furthermore, the ECB recommends that banks opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. In addition, the Dutch central bank has reduced systemic buffer requirements for the three largest banks to support bank lending. The central bank is also taking measures to provide temporary regulatory relief to less significant banking institutions. Furthermore, the planned introduction of a floor for mortgage loan risk weighting is postponed. In turn, the largest Dutch banks have agreed to grant SMEs a six-month postponement of their loan repayments.

14 Spain Key measures (about 0.7 percent of GDP, €8.9 billion; depending on the usage and duration of the measures the amount could be higher) include budget support from the contingency fund to the Ministry of Health (€1 billion); advance transfer to the regions for the regional health services (€2.8 billion); additional funding for research related to the development of drugs and vaccines for COVID-19 (€110 million); entitlement of unemployment benefit for workers temporarily laid off under the Temporary Employment Adjustment Schemes (ERTE) due to COVID-19, with no requirement for prior minimum contribution or reduction of accumulated entitlement; increased sick pay for COVID-19 infected workers or those quarantined, from 60 to 75 percent of the regulatory base, paid by the Social Security budget; an allowance for self-employed workers affected by economic activity suspension; additional budgetary funds of €300 million and further budget flexibility for the provision of assistance to dependents; transfer of €25 million to autonomous communities funding meals for children affected by the school closure; and extension of the social

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the


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benefit for energy provision. Further measures include exemptions of social contributions by impacted companies that maintain employment under the ERTE; tax payment deferrals for small and medium enterprises and self-employed for six months (€14 billion); 50 percent exemption from employer’s social security contributions, from February to June 2020, for workers with permanent discontinuous contracts in the tourism sector and related activities; budget flexibility to enable transfers between budget lines; centralization of medical supplies; and an emergency management process for the procurement of all goods and services needed by the public sector to implement any measure to address COVID-19.

countercyclical buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans (NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; and recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions. Furthermore, the ECB recommends that banks opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. In addition, the government of Spain has extended up to €100 billion government loan guarantees for firms and self-employed; up to €2 billion public guarantees for exporters through the Spanish Export Insurance Credit Company; and guarantees for loan maturity extensions to farmers using the special 2017 drought credit lines. These public guarantees could leverage up to €83 billion of liquidity support to companies through the private sector. Other measures include additional funding for the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) credit lines (€10 billion); introduction of a special credit line for the tourism sector through the ICO (€400 million); one-month moratorium on mortgage payments for the most vulnerable; deferred repayment of loans granted to businesses by the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism; ban of short-selling Spanish shares in the stock market at least until April 17; and authorization for special government screening of FDI in strategic sectors.

15 Sri Lanka The government has allocated up to 0.1 percent of GDP for quarantine and other containment measures, as well as US$5 million (0.01 percent of GDP) to the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund. The 2020 Q1 payment deadline for income tax, VAT and certain other taxes has been extended until end-April. Other measures announced include tax exemptions for

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reduced monetary policy rates by 25 basis points on March 16 and lowered the required reserve ratio on domestic currency deposits of commercial banks by one percentage point to ease liquidity conditions. The President has also announced a wide-ranging debt repayment moratorium, which includes a six month moratorium on bank


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imported masks and disinfectant, price ceilings on essential food items such as eggs, lentils and fish, as well as concessional loans and food allowances for low income consumers (beneficiaries of the Samurdhi program). The President has also established a special fund for containment, mitigation and social welfare spending, inviting local and foreign tax-free donations.

loans for the tourism, garment, plantation and IT sectors, related logistics providers, and small & medium size industries, with reduced rate working capital loans for these sectors. There will also be a six month moratorium on leasing loans for three-wheelers, and a three-month moratorium on small-value personal banking and leasing loans. The interest rate on credit cards will be capped, for transactions up to a certain amount, with a reduction in the minimum monthly repayment. In addition, the President has announced that state-owned financial institutions will invest in treasury bonds and bills to stabilize the money market interest rate at 7 percent. Exchange Rate & Balance of Payments The Sri Lankan authorities introduced exchange restrictions on March 19 to reduce foreign exchange market pressures, preventing Sri Lankan commercial banks from facilitating the following activities for three months: (i) importing motor vehicles under letters of credit (with some exceptions); and (ii) importing other non-essential goods under letters of credit, documents against acceptance, and advance payment. Commercial banks will also be prohibited for three months from purchasing Sri Lankan international sovereign bonds from the market, to alleviate pressure on the currency.

16 Sweden The announced fiscal package amounts to SEK 174 billion or 3.5 percent of 2019 GDP to SEK 462 billion or 9.2 percent of 2019 GDP depending on uptake (the debt and deficit impact may deviate from these amounts). Measures include (i) additional expenditures on wage subsidies for short-term leave, increase in transfers to relevant agencies to deal with the coronavirus outbreak and its repercussions, temporary payment of sick leave by the government, capital injections to SMEs, extra funding to the cultural sector and sports associations (SEK 16.9 billion); (ii) the possibility to defer a

Key monetary measures include: (i) reduction of the lending rate for overnight loans by 55 basis points to 0.2 percent (while leaving the repo rate unchanged at 0 percent); (ii) lending of up to SEK 500 billion to companies via banks; (iii) introduction of a new lending facility whereby banks can borrow unlimited amounts (given adequate collateral) with 3-month maturity; (iv) increase of purchases of securities of up to SEK 300 billion this year (where securities may include government and municipal bonds, covered bonds and securities issued by non-financial corporations); (v) the establishment of a swap facility


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maximum of three month worth of payments of companies’ social contribution fees, VAT and payroll taxes for a period of up to 12 months (SEK 27 billion if uptake similar to GFC, and SEK 315 billion if used by all firms to its maximum); and (iii) credit guarantees for Swedish airlines (SEK 5 billion) and expansion of the Swedish Export Credit Agency’s credit guarantee framework (SEK 50 billion) and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK 75 billion). To support the international response, the government has decided to contribute SEK 40 million to the WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies

of USD 60 billion between the Riksbank and the US Federal Reserve (mutual currency arrangement); and (vi) the possibility for banks to borrow in US dollars against collateral of up to USD 60 billion. Key macro-financial policies include (i) easing of countercyclical capital buffer by 2.5 percentage points; (ii) the possibility for banks to temporarily breach the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) for individual currencies and for total currencies; and (iii) the recognition that loss of income due to COVID-19 is a cause for exemption from the amortization requirement (banks and borrowers may agree to reduce or suspend amortization payments temporarily given loss of income linked to COVID-19). Furthermore, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has urged banks and credit institutes under its supervision to refrain from paying out dividends to its shareholders under the current circumstances.

17 Germany In addition to running down accumulated reserves, the federal government adopted a supplementary budget of €156 billion (4.9 percent of GDP) which includes: (i) spending on healthcare equipment, hospital capacity and R&D (vaccine), (ii) expanded access to short-term work (“Kurzarbeit”) subsidy to preserve jobs and workers’ incomes, expanded childcare benefits for low-income parents and easier access to basic income support for the self-employed, (iii) €50 billion in grants to small business owners and self-employed persons severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak in addition to interest-free tax deferrals until year-end. At the same time, through the newly created economic stabilization fund (WSF) and the public development bank KfW, the government is expanding the volume and access to public loan guarantees for firms of different sizes, with an allocation of at least €825billion (25 percent of GDP).

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital


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In addition to the federal government’s fiscal package, many state governments (Länder) have announced own measures to support their economies, amounting to €48 billion in direct support and €63bn in state-level loan guarantees.

conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the countercyclical capital buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans (NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; it also recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions and opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. More recently, ECB Banking Supervision asked banks to not pay dividends for the financial years 2019 and 2020 or buy back shares during COVID-19 pandemic, from which the conserved capital should be used to support households, small businesses and corporate borrowers and/or to absorb losses on existing exposures to such borrowers. The authorities extended all ECB-issued regulatory and operational relief to German banks under national supervision. In addition to measures at the euro area level: (i) release of the countercyclical capital buffer for banks from 0.25 percent to zero; (ii) additional €100 billion to refinance expanded short-term liquidity provision to companies through the public development bank KfW, in partnership with commercial banks; and (iii) following the structure of the former Financial Stabilization Fund, €100 billion is allocated within the WSF to directly acquire equity of larger affected companies and strengthen their capital position.

18 Thailand In response to COVID-19, Cabinet has approved fiscal stimulus measures amounting to at least 3 percent of GDP or THB 518 billion consisting of: i) health-related spending, including

The policy rate was reduced by 50 bps from 1.25 to 0.75 percent during the first quarter of 2020. In addition, a number of measures have been approved by Cabinet to help debtors


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preventive and remedial measures; ii) cash handouts and soft loans for 3 million workers outside the social security system; and iii) support for businesses through soft loans " from FIs and Social Security Office, lower withholding tax and higher tax expense deduction for SMEs, lower water and electricity bills, and lower employees’ and employers’ social security contributions. The Ministry of Finance said that it plans to announce more measures between April and July.

affected byCOVID-19: (i) additional loans for circulation capital as well as reductions in interest and/or fees to make sure that debtors can keep their businesses operational; (ii) low interest loans (at 2 percent interest for a period of 2 years, not over 20 million Baht per customer); (iii) relaxation of repayment conditions and debt restructuring by suspending the principal and reducing the interest rate for the debts to SFIs; and (iv) relaxation of the maximum limit of personal loans for emergency cases. To lower the volatility of the government bond yield and ensure the normal functioning of the government bond market, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) purchased government bonds in excess of 100 billion baht during 13-20 March 2020, and will do more if necessary. The BOT reduced and cancelled BOT bond issuance. The Ministry of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the BOT (i) set up a special facility to provide liquidity for mutual funds through commercial banks (BOT’s preliminary estimate of eligible bond mutual funds is approximately THB 1 trillion); and (ii) set up a THB 70-100 billion Corporate Bond Stabilization Fund to invest in high-quality, newly issued bonds by corporates to assist in debt rollover. Exchange Rate & Balance of Payments The BOT has provided some liquidity in the FX market thereby avoiding disorderly market conditions while also allowing the exchange rate to adjust as a shock absorber.

19 Singapore On February 18, the 2020 Budget announced a package of measures amounting to S$6.4 billion to deal with the economic slowdown and the uncertainties of the COVID-19 outbreak. Funds to contain the outbreak, provided mainly to the Ministry of Health, amount to S$800 million. The Care and

On February 14, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) welcomed the announcements from banks and insurers in Singapore to support their customers facing financial difficulties brought about by the impact of COVID outbreak, while adhering to prudent risk assessments. The support


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Support Package provides support to households (S$1.6 billion), including through a cash payout and an additional goods and services tax (GST) voucher. The Stabilization and Support Package provides support to businesses (S$4.0 billion), including wage subsidies as well as additional support for industries directly affected and self-employed persons. On March 26, a supplementary budget was announced with additional measures worth over S$48 billion. The package includes, among other items, an expansion of wage subsidies, a tripling of cash payouts to households, enhancement of financing schemes and setting aside loan capital of S$20 billion, and additional support to the most affected sectors.

announced by banks include moratoriums on repayments for affected corporate and individual customers, extension of payment terms for trade finance facilities, and additional financing for working capital. On March 19, 2020, the MAS announced the establishment of a US$60 billion swap facility with the US Federal Reserve. The MAS intends to draw on this swap facility to provide USD liquidity to financial institutions in Singapore. On March 23, the MAS announced that the six-monthly monetary policy statement will be issued on March 30. This is slightly earlier than the usual timing of mid-April. On March 26, the MAS announced that the first auction under the US$60 billion MAS USD Facility with the Federal Reserve will be conducted on March 27, 2020, where US$10 billion in 7-day funds will be offered. MAS will conduct another two auctions on March 30, where US$12 billion in 7-day funds and US$8 billion in 84-day funds will be offered. After this, regular weekly auctions will be conducted every Monday.

20 Hong Kong An estimated HK$152 billion (or 5.3 percent of GDP) of fiscal measures have been approved and are being implemented. Key measures include (i) establishment of a new Anti-Epidemic Fund (HK$30 billion or 1.0 percent of GDP) to enhance anti-epidemic facilities and services; (ii) tax and fee reliefs and other one-off relief measures (HK$51 billion or 1.8 percent of GDP); and (iii) cash payout to Hong Kong SAR permanent residents aged 18 or above (HK$71 billion or 2.5 percent of GDP).

Under the currency board arrangement, the Base Rate was adjusted downward to 1.50 and 0.86 percent on March 4 and March 16, respectively, according to a pre-set formula, following the downward shifts in the target range for the US federal funds rate. The jurisdictional countercyclical capital buffer for Hong Kong SAR was reduced further from 2.0 to 1.0 percent on March 16. Key measures to provide financial relief include: (i) the introduction of low-interest loans for SMEs with 100 percent government guarantee; and (ii) other measures by banks to the extent permitted by their risk management principles, including delay of loan payment, extension of loan tenors, and principal moratoriums for affected SMEs, sectors, and households as appropriate.


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21 China An estimated RMB 1.3 trillion (or 1.2 percent of GDP) of fiscal measures have been approved and are being implemented. Key measures include: (i) Increased spending on epidemic prevention and control. (ii) Production of medical equipment. (iii) Accelerated disbursement of unemployment insurance. (iv) Tax relief and waived social security contributions. The overall fiscal expansion is expected to be significantly higher, reflecting the effect of already announced additional measures—including higher infrastructure investment and improvements of the national public health emergency management system—and automatic stabilizers.

The PBC provided monetary policy support and acted to safeguard financial stability. Key measures include: (i) liquidity injection into the banking system, including RMB 3 trillion in the first half of February and 20 billion in end-March, (ii) expansion of re-lending and re-discounting facilities by RMB 1.8 trillion to support manufacturers of medical supplies and daily necessities micro-, small- and medium-sized firms and the agricultural sector at low interest rates, (iii) reduction of the 7-day and 14-day reverse repo rates by 30 and 10 bps, respectively, as well as the 1-year medium-term lending facility rate by 10 bps, (iv) targeted RRR cuts by 50-100 bps for banks that meet inclusive financing criteria which benefit smaller firms and an additional 100 bps for eligible joint-stock banks to support private SMEs, and (v) policy banks’ credit extension to micro- and small enterprises (RMB 350 billion). The government has also taken multiple steps to limit tightening in financial conditions, including measured forbearance to provide financial relief to affected households, corporates, and regions facing repayment difficulties. Key measures include (i) delay of loan payments and other credit support measures for eligible SMEs and households, (ii) tolerance for higher NPLs for loans by epidemic-hit sectors and SMEs, (iii) support bond issuance by financial institutions to finance SME lending, (iv) additional financing support for corporates via increased bond issuance by corporates, (v) increased fiscal support for credit guarantees, (vi) flexibility in the implementation of the asset management reform, and (vii) easing of housing policies by local governments. Exchange Rate and Balance of Payments The exchange rate has been allowed to adjust flexibly. A ceiling on cross-border financing under the macroprudential


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assessment framework was raised by 25 percent for banks, non-banks and enterprises.

22 Italy The government adopted a €25 billion (1.4 percent of GDP) emergency package. It includes (i) funds to strengthen the Italian health care system and civil protection (€3.2 billion); (ii) measures to preserve jobs and support income of laid-off workers and self-employed (€10.3 billion); (iii) other measures to support businesses, including tax deferrals and postponement of utility bill payments in most affected municipalities (€6.4 billion); as well as (iv) measures to support credit supply (€5.1 billion) aimed to unlock about €350 billion (20 percent of GDP) of liquidity for businesses and households (see below). The authorities indicated that additional steps could be taken if needed.

The ECB decided to provide monetary policy support through (i) additional asset purchases of €120 billion until end-2020 under the existing program (APP), and (ii) providing temporarily additional auctions of the full-allotment, fixed rate temporary liquidity facility at the deposit facility rate and more favourable terms on existing targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO-III) starting between June 2020 and June 2021. Further measures included an additional €750 billion asset purchase program of private and public sector securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program, PEPP) until end-2020, an expanded range of eligible assets under the corporate sector purchase program (CSPP), and relaxation of collateral standards for Eurosystem refinancing operations (MROs, LTROs, TLTROs). The ECB Banking Supervision allowed significant institutions to operate temporarily below the Pillar 2 Guidance, the capital conservation buffer, and the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR). In addition, new rules on the composition of capital to meet Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R) were front-loaded to release additional capital. The ECB considers that the appropriate release of the countercyclical capital buffer by the national macroprudential authorities will enhance its capital relief measures. The ECB Banking Supervision further decided to exercise – on a temporary basis – flexibility in the classification requirements and expectations on loss provisioning for non-performing loans (NPLs) that are covered by public guarantees and COVID-19 related public moratoria; it also recommended that banks avoid pro-cyclical assumptions for the determination of loss provisions and opt for the IFRS9 transitional rules. More recently, ECB Banking Supervision asked banks to not pay dividends for the financial years 2019 and 2020 or buy back


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shares during COVID-19 pandemic, from which the conserved capital should be used to support households, small businesses and corporate borrowers and/or to absorb losses on existing exposures to such borrowers. Key measures adopted in the government’s emergency package include: a moratorium on loan repayments for some households and SMEs, including on mortgages and overdrafts; state guarantees on loans to SMEs; incentives for financial and non-financial companies in the form of Deferred Tax Activities; state guarantee of €0.5 billion to the state development bank—Cassa Depositi e Prestiti—to support lending and liquidity to banks to enable them to finance medium- and large-sized companies. The Bank of Italy have announced a series of measures to help banks and non-bank intermediaries under its supervision, in line with the initiatives undertaken by the ECB and the EBA. These include the possibility to temporary operate below selected capital and liquidity requirements; extension of some reporting obligations; and rescheduling of on-site inspections. IVASS (Insurance supervisory authority) followed the EIOPA recommendations and called insurance companies to be prudent about dividends and bonus payments to protect their capital position; insurance companies are asked to provide updated Solvency II ratios on a weekly basis. CONSOB called a three-month ban on shorting of all shares and lowered a minimum threshold beyond which it is required to communicate the participation in a listed company. These measures are aimed to contain the volatility of the financial markets and to strengthen the transparency of the holdings in the Italian companies listed on the Stock Exchange.

i New control material developed by JRC Scientists https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/new-control-material-developed-jrc-scientists-help-prevent-coronavirus-test-failures ii 5 reasons the world needs WHO, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061412 iii Government support schemes for COVID-19, Brazil - https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/coronavirus/government-support-schemes/ iv China to support small and micro businesses, agricultural entities with government financing guarantee - http://www.china.org.cn/business/2020-04/02/content_75888937.htm v Government support schemes for COVID-19, Italy - https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/coronavirus/government-support-schemes/ viA German import to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus - https://thehill.com/opinion/international/488484-a-german-import-to-fight-the-economic-impact-of-the-coronavirus vii Brazilian Govt’s provisional measure no. 927 for employers to preserve jobs during the COVID-19 crisis - https://www.machadomeyer.com.br/en/recent-publications/publications/labor/page-25 viii COVID-19 crisis: Employment https://www2.deloitte.com/lt/en/pages/legal/articles/covid-19-crisis--employment-law-in-lithuania.html ix The following measures taken by the Government of the Czech Republic in fighting the Covid-19 https://www.czechtradeoffices.com/en/il/news/the-following-measures-taken-by-the-government-of-the-czech-republic-in-fighting-the-covid-19 x Portugal to Treat Migrants as Residents During Coronavirus Crisis - https://www.news18.com/news/world/portugal-to-treat-migrants-as-residents-during-coronavirus-crisis-2555299.html xiCOVID-19: Special clinic for expatriate workers established at Hulhumale' preschool - https://raajje.mv/72934 xii Lebanon: Direct COVID-19 Assistance to Hardest Hit https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/08/lebanon-direct-covid-19-assistance-hardest-hit xiii IMF- Policy Tracker https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#U xiv World travel and tourism Council: Covid-19 Related Policy Shifts Supportive of Travel & Tourism Sector, Portugal - https://www.wttc.org/government-advice/

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/new-control-material-developed-jrc-scientists-help-prevent-coronavirus-test-failures

https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/news/new-control-material-developed-jrc-scientists-help-prevent-coronavirus-test-failures

https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061412

https://www.tmf-group.com/en/news-insights/coronavirus/government-support-schemes/


http://www.china.org.cn/business/2020-04/02/content_75888937.htm



https://thehill.com/opinion/international/488484-a-german-import-to-fight-the-economic-impact-of-the-coronavirus

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/488484-a-german-import-to-fight-the-economic-impact-of-the-coronavirus

https://www.machadomeyer.com.br/en/recent-publications/publications/labor/page-25

https://www2.deloitte.com/lt/en/pages/legal/articles/covid-19-crisis--employment-law-in-lithuania.html

https://www.czechtradeoffices.com/en/il/news/the-following-measures-taken-by-the-government-of-the-czech-republic-in-fighting-the-covid-19

https://www.czechtradeoffices.com/en/il/news/the-following-measures-taken-by-the-government-of-the-czech-republic-in-fighting-the-covid-19

https://www.news18.com/news/world/portugal-to-treat-migrants-as-residents-during-coronavirus-crisis-2555299.html

https://www.news18.com/news/world/portugal-to-treat-migrants-as-residents-during-coronavirus-crisis-2555299.html

https://raajje.mv/72934

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/08/lebanon-direct-covid-19-assistance-hardest-hit

https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#U

https://www.wttc.org/government-advice/

xv Report on the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/04/09/report-on-the-comprehensive-economic-policy-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/ xvi COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and the EU's response https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/covid-19-coronavirus-outbreak-and-the-eu-s-response/ xvii Enhancing central bank cooperation in the COVID-19 pandemic https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/enhancing-central-bank-cooperation-covid-19-pandemic xviii CNB adopts stabilizing measures in connection with coronavirus epidemic https://www.cnb.cz/en/cnb-news/press-releases/CNB-adopts-stabilising-measures-in-connection-with-coronavirus-epidemic/ xix Press Release: Emergency measures to mitigate the adverse economic effect on bank borrowers from the coronavirus pandemic https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/press_releases/1908080057_Press%20Release%20-%20Emergency%20Measures%20to%20Mitigate%20the%20Adverse%20Economic%20Effects%20on%20Bank%20Borrowers%20from%20the%20Coronavirus%20Pandemic.pdf xx Intervention by Central Banks on the economic impact of COVID-19 http://eabc-online.com/membership/benefits?id=267 xxi President announces relief measures to people amid COVID-19 https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/03/23/president-grants-concessions-for-the-people-amid-covid-19/ xxii WHO and UNICEF to partner on pandemic response through COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/who-and-unicef-partner-pandemic-response-through-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund xxiii 5 reasons the world needs WHO, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061412 xxiv 5 reasons the world needs WHO, to fight the COVID-19 pandemic https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1061412 xxv UN releases $15 million to help vulnerable countries battle the spread of the coronavirus https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/press-releases/un-releases-15-million-help-vulnerable-countries-battle-spread-coronavirus xxvi IMF Executive Board Approves Immediate Debt Relief for 25 Countries https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/04/13/pr20151-imf-executive-board-approves-immediate-debt-relief-for-25-countries

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/04/09/report-on-the-comprehensive-economic-policy-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/04/09/report-on-the-comprehensive-economic-policy-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/covid-19-coronavirus-outbreak-and-the-eu-s-response/

https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/enhancing-central-bank-cooperation-covid-19-pandemic

https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economic-issues-watch/enhancing-central-bank-cooperation-covid-19-pandemic

https://www.cnb.cz/en/cnb-news/press-releases/CNB-adopts-stabilising-measures-in-connection-with-coronavirus-epidemic/

https://www.cnb.cz/en/cnb-news/press-releases/CNB-adopts-stabilising-measures-in-connection-with-coronavirus-epidemic/

https://www.centralbank.go.ke/uploads/press_releases/1908080057_Press%20Release%20-%20Emergency%20Measures%20to%20Mitigate%20the%20Adverse%20Economic%20Effects%20on%20Bank%20Borrowers%20from%20the%20Coronavirus%20Pandemic.pdf



http://eabc-online.com/membership/benefits?id=267

https://www.newsfirst.lk/2020/03/23/president-grants-concessions-for-the-people-amid-covid-19/

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/who-and-unicef-partner-pandemic-response-through-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund

https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/who-and-unicef-partner-pandemic-response-through-covid-19-solidarity-response-fund



https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/press-releases/un-releases-15-million-help-vulnerable-countries-battle-spread-coronavirus

https://www.unicef.org/turkey/en/press-releases/un-releases-15-million-help-vulnerable-countries-battle-spread-coronavirus

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/04/13/pr20151-imf-executive-board-approves-immediate-debt-relief-for-25-countries

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/04/13/pr20151-imf-executive-board-approves-immediate-debt-relief-for-25-countries

xxvii ADB Triples COVID-19 Response Package to $20 Billion https://www.adb.org/news/adb-triples-covid-19-response-package-20-billion xxviii Legal Update- COVID19: Immediate Measures to Gain State Aid Financing https://www.lathamgermany.de/2020/03/legal-update-covid-19-immediate-measures-to-gain-state-aid-financing-kfw-credit-et-al/

1. Brookings India. (2020, April 2). www.brookings.edu. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/2020/04/02/the-early-days-of-a-global-pandemic-a-timeline-of-covid-19-spread-and-government-interventions/

Center for Statigic and Intenational Studies. (2020, April 13). www.csis.org. Retrieved from https://www.csis.org/analysis/breaking-down-g20-covid-19-fiscal-response

worldometers. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/

2. Cover Page Image of the Globe: Smartcat https://www.smartcat.ai/blog/global-marketing-strategies-how-to-reap-the-rewards-of-international-opportunity/

3. ‘Takeaway’s from the Globe’, Pg. 32, background Image of Globe: ShutterStock

https://www.adb.org/news/adb-triples-covid-19-response-package-20-billion

https://www.lathamgermany.de/2020/03/legal-update-covid-19-immediate-measures-to-gain-state-aid-financing-kfw-credit-et-al/

https://www.lathamgermany.de/2020/03/legal-update-covid-19-immediate-measures-to-gain-state-aid-financing-kfw-credit-et-al/

https://www.smartcat.ai/blog/global-marketing-strategies-how-to-reap-the-rewards-of-international-opportunity/

https://www.smartcat.ai/blog/global-marketing-strategies-how-to-reap-the-rewards-of-international-opportunity/

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