Position Paper on the Initiative to Repeal the “Billion Law”

Repeal would cost the National Bank of Moldova about MDL 13 billion, pushing its statutory capital to roughly minus MDL 10 billion. The Government would then have to recapitalise it, so taxpayers would still bear the burden. By abandoning its own guarantees, the state would set a dangerous precedent, raise country risk premiums and push borrowing costs, likely above the 5% rate now applied to the Government's debt to the National Bank of Moldova.

Relations with the IMF, the European Union and the World Bank would suffer, jeopardising a new IMF Memorandum and other preferential financing. This is the second attempt: the first, adopted on 16 December 2020, was suspended and then annulled by the Constitutional Court. The think tank urges faster investigations and accountability for those responsible. It also reiterates its 2016 mechanism: proceeds from asset sales, collateral and recovered funds should go solely to early repayment of the debt, with transparent public reporting.