https://investinestonia.

com/steps-estonia-is-taking-to-reduce-the-economic-effects-of-covid-19/
this website in particular talk about the 10 steps the estonia’s govt is taking to reduce the
economic effects of covi-19

Bank of Estonia: Taking a loan to support the economy is sensible

A very powerful report on how financial systems are responding to corona and whether short term financing is
needed in times of corona or not.

He also reiterated Estonia's economy has been better

Muller said that:
prepared for the current crisis than a decade ago during the financial
crash. Companies are stronger, as well as the entire financial sector,
which was at the heart of the previous crisis. Add this in the text

What Estonia is currently doing – role of bank

Estonian Economy and Monetary Policy 1/2020 pdf

The focus here will be on how the Estonian economy may look in the near
future, but a great deal depends on when the spread of the virus is brought
under control and when the restrictions on the economy are lifted. ^
Credit rating agency Fitch affirms Estonia's long-term rating at AA-

Credit rating agency Fitch has affirmed Estonia's long-term foreign-currency

issuer default rating at AA- with a stable outlook. Unemployment is expected
to rise to the highest levels since 2014 and the deficit to grow to 8.1 percent
of GDP.

Fitch said the disruption caused by the pandemic is weighing on an economy

that was already slowing. The agency has so far cut its forecast for Estonia's
real GDP growth in 2020 to -1.1 percent, from 2.4 percent previously, with
private consumption (-2 percent) and investment (-6 percent) driving the
contraction.

Estonia receives €750 million loan to mitigate economic effects of COVID-19

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Estonia have signed a 15-year loan
agreement of €750 million to help finance the measures taken to curb the
immediate impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy
and society.

As the international financial institution of the Nordic and Baltic countries,

NIB finances projects that improve the productivity and benefit the
environment of the region. The Bank also has a stabilising role during
economic crisis.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries:

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member
countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the
leading rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's.

Central bank allocates €18.9 million of profit to state budget

Role of state bank: The supervisory board of the Bank of Estonia decided
on Tuesday to transfer three quarters, or €18.9 million, of what the central
bank made in profit last year to the state budget. This is the maximum that
the central bank is allowed to allocate to the state by law.

Estonia receives €750 million loan to mitigate economic effects of COVID-19 news as of march 2020
https://news.err.ee/1069797/estonia-receives-750-million-loan-to-mitigate-economic-effects-of-covid-
19
The government has launched an initial €2 billion economic
package to support the economy.
No interruptions to the circulation of cash during the state of
emergency

Eesti Pank is in constant contact with the banks and all the ATMs are working
without interruption, and all the commercial banks are also being supplied with
cash without any interruption. There have been moments in the past few days
when withdrawals of cash from ATMs have temporarily increased. The cash
handling company G4S has kept all of the ATMs full without interruption and
even when demand has temporarily increased. Eesti Pank is ready to meet all
the requirements of the banks for additional cash.

Given the spread of coronavirus, Eesti Pank recommends that people use
bankcards where possible for paying, with contactless cards particularly good at
preventing the spread of the virus, or pay with their smartphones. During the
state of emergency, the commercial banks have raised the upper limit on
contactless payments to 50 euros per payment. Those who can connect their
bankcard to their mobile phone through the Apple Pay or Google Pay apps can
use their mobile to pay amounts of more than 50 euros. Hygiene rules must be
followed carefully by those who have touched cash or have entered their PIN in a
card payment terminal.

The world has practiced working from home since last week, Estonia with 99% of its public
services already digitized, was already prepared for the shift to working from home. 100% of
Estonian schools were already using e-solutions prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. With the added
pressure on the healthcare system, digital health records and e-prescription mean that patients do
not need to physically see their doctors in order to refill a prescription, limiting unnecessary
contact between healthcare workers and patients. https://www.visitestonia.com/en/why-
estonia/how-digital-estonia-tackles-the-effects-of-covid-19

While the country is still in self-quarantine, Estonia’s government, citizens and businesses are
fighting side-by-side to reduce the predicted and tangible economic effects of the COVID-19
crisis. Here are 10+ steps already taken or currently being implemented, cooperation being the
key to every single one of them. https://investinestonia.com/steps-estonia-is-taking-to-reduce-the-
economic-effects-of-covid-19/

1. Guaranteeing existing loans issued to businesses and issuing new revolving loans
2. Postponing tax payments without interest made possible
3. Temporary measures to prevent unemployment
4. Reducing excises on diesel fuel, gas, electricity
5. Lowering port taxes and for online media
6. A B2B workforce sharing platform: Because of the current situation, there are
companies that have human resources that they cannot use – and others who are short of
work hands. One of the ideas that was made a reality as a result of the Hack the Crisis
7. Aid to event-organizers who have had to cancel
8. A single contact point for information: The Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Communications has created a single contact point for Estonia’s companies in need of
information during the spread of COVID-19.
9. Measures to support tourism
10. Letting startups hack the crisis: Tens of startups across the country are contributing
with ideas and solutions – both as a result of the Hack the Crisis hackathon.
11. Cooperating with businesses to fight the challenges: The Ministry of Economic Affairs
has started a web portal to collect information from businesses that are willing to help the
government with their resources, either material ones or knowledge.