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EBRD, EU and Fortis Bank Polska to develop small businesses
€20 million credit line to help strengthen Polish economy
A €20 million credit line from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to Fortis Bank Polska will help the bank to continue its support for the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Poland. Fortis Bank Polska, which specialises in servicing SMEs in Poland, will use the loan to build on the first credit line signed under the Facility in January 2000.
The EBRD is providing a credit line to the bank, with €1.5 million being made available by the European Commission (EC) in funds to help develop the project. This financing is part of the EC SME Finance Facility, a programme of the European Commission in co-operation with the EBRD aiming to facilitate the access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises and to promote SME growth and development.
Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Vice President at the EBRD, and in Warsaw signing the loan, said the Facility to Fortis Bank is important for Poland and provides a successful means of providing local entrepreneurs across the country with greater access to medium-term financing. She noted that SMEs play a vital role in the economy by underpinning growth and providing job opportunities.
Under the first SME credit line, Fortis Bank Polska has granted around 309 loans to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Poland. The second credit line will help the bank to build on its success, to help strengthen Poland's economy by developing more small businesses.
The SME Facility was launched on April 1999 under the Phare Programme by the EC with the EBRD to encourage the growth and development of SMEs by facilitating their access to loans, leasing and equity finance from local financial intermediaries in the candidate countries.
Leszek Niemycki, Vice President of Fortis Bank Polska, considers the credit line to be an advantageous facility for the Polish entrepreneurs, which enables faster and more dynamic growth of the SME sector. In his opinion, thanks to help of the EBRD's consulting team Fortis Bank Polska can provide higher quality services to the SME sector.
The Phare Programme is currently the main channel for the European Union's financial and technical co-operation with the candidate countries of central and eastern Europe. The budget earmarked for the Phare Programme as a whole is approximately €1.5 billion per year.
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