Graduation time

WHEN the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was set up in 1991, telling the post-communist borrowers from the capitalist lenders required a mere glance at non-financial indicators, such as the cut of the easterners' hair, suits or shoes. As those attending the annual meeting of the EBRD, which starts on April 12th, will notice, that sartorial difference has vanished. Most post-communist economies are in better shape too. Some do well even by international measures. Standard & Poor's, an American credit-rating agency, gives the Czech Republic a far higher rating than Greece, the European Union's weakest member. The ex-communist block attracted more than $20 billion in private foreign investment last year. Which raises a troubling question: why is the EBRD still lending in countries which now have easy access to the international capital markets?