NIB’s billion “corona” bond is to raise capital to help the Nordic and Baltic countries cope with the post-lockdown recession. The proceeds from NIB’s transaction will be used to finance the upgrade of the healthcare systems and alleviate frictions in supply chains.

As unanimously predicted by experts, the universal lockdown has quickly turned into a major economic slowdown globally, and Northern Europe is by no means an exception. The region’s largest economy, Sweden, is likely to plunge 3.2 percent this year. Denmark is into a 10 percent dive. Norway’s economy will most likely contract by 3.8 percent, Finland by 1.5–4 percent, Iceland by 4 percent, Latvia by 6.5 percent, Estonia by more than 6 percent, and Lithuania by 3–20 percent.