Gibraltar Government given £500 million UK loan guarantee

THE Government of Gibraltar in the form of Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo has welcomed the Written Ministerial Statement on Gibraltar’s Covid Response filed today (November 19) by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP.

The Written Ministerial Statement confirms that it has been agreed that the United Kingdom Government will provide a loan guarantee to the Gibraltar Government for a lending facility of up to £500 million.

This guarantee will provide resilience to the Government’s finances by enabling Gibraltar to borrow at more favourable rates, relying on the UK government’s higher sovereign credit rating as the guarantor and confirming the Government of Gibraltar’s capacity to repay the principal loan.

The Chief Minister expressed his thanks to the British Government and said “This is excellent news and I am delighted to be able to inform the community of this massive show of support from the United Kingdom at this difficult time.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has had its toll on the Gibraltar economy and although there were no deaths during the initial outbreak three residents on the Rock have now died during this second spike and many children have caught coronavirus as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read this news article “Gibraltar Government welcomes UK Sovereign Guarantee”.