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| - Europe's development bank on Thursday named Odile Renaud-Basso, a senior official at the French Treasury, as its first female head. The London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development announced the appointment at its annual meeting that unveiled also a post-pandemic recovery strategy centred on "green" investments. "The board of governors of the EBRD has elected Odile Renaud-Basso of France as the bank's next president," read a statement issued at the online meeting. Renaud-Basso, 55, joins European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde and Kristalina Georgieva at the International Monetary Fund among a select group of women heading up top financial institutions. She beat off competition from Italian economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan to replace Britain's Suma Chakrabarti, whose eight-year tenure ended in July. Renaud-Basso also became the first female director-general at the French Treasury upon her appointment in 2016. Following the announcement of her appointment Renaud-Basso said she looks forward to implementing "the ambitious roadmap that was just agreed at the annual meeting." At its gathering, the EBRD decided that by 2025 more than half of its annual investments would be in green projects. Earlier this year, the bank launched a 21-billion-euro ($25-billion) support package to help businesses in its virus-battered investment zone. The EBRD was founded in 1991 to help former Soviet bloc countries switch to free-market economies. The lender, whose shareholders comprise tens of countries, has grown to invest in 38 emerging economies spanning central and eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. ved-rfj/bcp/rl
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