The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Arvid Türkner, who has held a similar position in Turkey since November 2017, as its new Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova from May 1, 2024, the bank said in a press release on Wednesday.
“Ukraine is a priority area for EBRD investments, with EUR4.1 billion sent there during the wartime period. Türkner will replace Matteo Patrone, who after five years of work (in Ukraine) will hold the position of EBRD vice president for the banking sector,” the release stated.
The EBRD notes that future wartime and reconstruction investments in Ukraine will be underpinned by the EUR4bn paid-up capital increase approved by shareholders late last year.
“Arvid Türkner’s outstanding performance in his previous role in Turkey gives us great confidence that this vital portfolio is in safe hands,” the statement quotes EBRD First Vice President Jürgen Rigterink as saying.
It is indicated that Türkner will oversee the development of the EBRD’s program for Ukraine, focusing on five wartime investment themes: support for energy security, vital infrastructure, food security, trade and the private sector, as well as political dialogue to help Ukraine and Moldova move towards EU membership.
It is reported that Türkner, a German national, joined the EBRD in January 2009 from the German development bank DEG as a senior banker in the financial institutions group in Moscow. In October 2013, he was promoted to regional development director and deputy head of the Moscow office, and became head of the office in April 2015.
After moving to London in early 2017 as director of corporate debt, Turkner was appointed to his current role as managing director in Turkey in November 2017, where he successfully led the bank’s crisis response to the devaluation of the lira in 2018. Under his leadership and despite recurring macroeconomic volatility, the bank’s business in Turkey has continued to grow significantly: the portfolio is currently valued at EUR7.5bn, with 246 active projects and EUR5.8bn of operating assets. In 2023 alone, the bank signed 48 projects worth EUR2.48bn.
