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EBRD financing boosts small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovenia
Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (NKBM), the second-largest Slovenian bank, will receive a €5 million credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to promote the growth of the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Provided under the SME Finance Facility signed by the EBRD and the European Commission in April 1999, this is the first credit line for a Slovenian bank. Similar credit lines have already been extended by the EBRD under the SME Finance Facility to three Polish banks as well as to two banks in Bulgaria and Romania between December 1999 and June 2000.
NKBM will also benefit from substantial technical cooperation funding provided by the European Commission. This is aimed at developing a sustainable SME lending programme and will assist the bank in covering the costs of developing this business.
"The EBRD credit line will address the lack of term financing for small and medium-sized businesses and promote their development in Slovenia," said David Hexter, Deputy Vice President of the EBRD. "Support for SMEs through a strategic, country-specific approach is one of the Bank’s main priorities in fostering transition to market economies in central and eastern Europe."
"The strategy of NKBM is to become a dominant bank for small and medium-sized companies and the EBRD’s credit line under the SME Facility fits perfectly into our orientation," said Zoran Nemec, Executive Director, Retail Banking of NKBM. "We are also convinced that through the technical assistance that is included in the overall SME Facility, our credit officers will be able to acquire additional skills and knowledge in credit lending."
With a five-year maturity, the €5 million credit line will allow NKBM to incorporate SME lending into its ongoing business activities. It will also provide much-needed term funding to SMEs to ensure the sector’s further growth.
The predecessor of the present NKBM was Mestna hranilnica Maribor established in 1862. In 1990, NKBM became a joint-stock company, owned by the largest Slovenian bank, Ljubljanska Banka, and a number of local companies. Following the establishment of independence for Slovenia at the beginning of the 1990s, NKBM underwent a rehabilitation process. This was completed successfully in July 1997 and the Republic of Slovenia became the sole owner of the bank. The NKBM Group has nine subsidiaries and associates, specialising in property, leasing, brokerage and investment fund management. Its headquarters are in Maribor and it has an extensive network of 80 branches throughout the country, concentrated in the eastern and western regions. NKBM employs approximately 1,300 employees.
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