Ūkio kreditavimas užsienio paskolomis ekonominės sistemos transformacijos laikotarpiu

LTStraipsnyje aptariama Lietuvos banko patirtis ekonominės sistemos transformacijos laikotarpiu valdant du užsienio finansinių srautų projektus – Europos Sąjungos paramos smulkiajam ir vidutiniam verslui ir Pasaulio banko pagalbos žmonėms ir finansų sektoriui. Nagrinėjamas šių projektų organizavimas ir vykdymas, vertinami pasiekti rezultatai. Daroma išvada, kad sėkmingą projektų įgyvendinimą lėmė skaidri jų valdymo institucinė aplinka, rinkos mechanizmais pagrįsta projektų finansavimo tvarka, aiški vykdytojų atsakomybė. Projektai turėjo reikšmingos įtakos tobulinant kreditavimo procesą ir mažinant paskolų palūkanų normas. Šių projektų vykdymo patirtis galėtų būti pritaikyta kredituojant šalies ūkį pasaulio finansų ir ekonomikos krizės sąlygomis ir gerinant Europos Sąjungos paramos lėšų panaudojimą.

ENForeign loans play an important role in financing transformation process from administrative to market economy. However, the effectiveness of the use of the foreign loans to domestic economy critically depends on the institutional setting for foreign debt management systems. Authors of the article analyze the final results of two projects– EC PHARE project for SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) and the World Bank Enterprise and Financial Sector Assistance project – related to the use foreign loans, which were managed by the Bank of Lithuania and channeled throw commercial banks to the real economy. The main goal of the article is to review the results of the management of the projects through the whole cycle and to access the possibilities of multiplying positive experience in current juncture of the global credit crunch. Authors first analyze the economic environ- ment in which both projects where prepared and implemented, the significance of the foreign loans and the role of the Bank of Lithuania as fiscal agent in preparing and managing the projects. Than they review the main features of the projects and issues related to the preparation and implementation of the projects. Thereafter, the impact of loans to different sectors of the economy is analyzed and overall results of the projects are presented. And finally, the assessment of the main positive aspects and lessons learned that could be usefully used at the current juncture of the global credit crunch is done.Both projects were initiated at the time when normal access of the companies to the credit recourses was impossible either because of high inflation and interest rate for the loans provided, or because of the lack of credit history and lack of adequate collateral or because of the lack of macroeconomic stability or institutional and administrative weakness of the banking system and the lack of the banking experience in preparing and accessing the risks of the projects. Both projects got a high grade of assessment from the European Commission and the World Bank experts. Even the detailed comparisons of the different forms of the management of foreign loans in terms of effectiveness are rather difficult, the quick overview suggests that this way of use of foreign loans is preferable because of clear targets, transparency in preparation and implementation process, independence and accountability of managers. However, most important factor of the success was the use of market principles, involvement of commercial banks and independent audit institutions in the process of preparation and implementation of the projects. Finally, the involvement of the Bank of Lithuania as a fiscal agent for the projects was a very important factor for the success because of better administrative capacity compared with other institutions and presence of reputation risks. Even due to the number of reasons the fiscal agency functions of the Bank of Lithuania were not expanded further, very positive results of both projects suggest, that this form of foreign loans management could be explored further especially at the time of the global credit crunch and lack of credit resources for financing of the economy. In the authors’ opinion, this kind of mechanism could be a viable alternative for a such emerging country like Lithuania to ensure accessibility to credit resources for business.