BRUSSELS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund welcomed on Monday a commitment by the four biggest foreign banks in recession-stricken Latvia to support their branches there.
"These commitments, along with the financial support that the Latvian authorities receive from the EU, the IMF, the World Bank and other bilateral and multilateral donors, will cushion the effects of the economic downturn, strengthen investor confidence, and help Latvia return to sustainable growth," the Commission and IMF said in a joint statement.
Latvia, facing an 18 percent economic decline this year and 4 percent in 2010, depends on funds from a 7.5 billion euro ($10.9 billion) rescue agreed with the IMF and European Union last year to finance its budget deficit and keep its currency, the lat, stable.
"The success of the reform program and medium-term balance of payments sustainability also depends significantly on the continued involvement of all banks operating in or with Latvia, including foreign-owned banks," the statement said.
The key banks are DnB Nord, Nordea, SEB and Swedbank. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)