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EBRD, HVB Bank promote mortgages in Serbia & Montenegro
€10 million to help meet growing demand for finance
Serbian residents will gain more access to long-term finance to buy, build or
refurbish their homes with the help of a €10 million loan from the EBRD to HVB
Bank Jugoslavija a.d. (HVB Bank), a private bank in Serbia and Montenegro.
The 12-year loan will enable HVB Bank to extend mortgage finance of up to
€100,000 to individuals and should promote competition within the country's
mortgage sector, benefiting potential homeowners. The EBRD and HVB Bank will
also work together with a local legal firm on the standardisation of mortgage
loan documentation, laying the groundwork for securitisation as the country’s
capital markets develop.
Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, Director for Bank and Mortgage Lending at the EBRD,
said that while mortgage finance demand is growing in Serbia and Montenegro,
the supply of such finance from local commercial sources is limited – an
obstacle this loan is helping to overcome.
The loan builds on previous cooperation between the two institutions,
including €7 million under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme, which
supports trade to, from and within the Bank’s 27 countries of operations.
Christoph Greussing, Chairman and CEO of HVB Bank, said the development of
mortgage activities is a key strategic orientation for his bank. The potential
of the market is large in Serbia, and HVB Bank is very well placed to tap a
significant part of it, Mr Greussing said.
HVB Bank, a subsidiary of Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA), started
operating in Serbia and Montenegro in 2001. BA-CA is a member of the HVB
Group, one of the largest European banking groups, represented in over 40
countries worldwide and consists of a network of 2,060 outlets, where 60,000
employees serve more than 9.8 million clients. In Serbia, the bank is offering
services to private and corporate clients through a network of 4 branches.
Dragica Pilipovic-Chaffey, Director for Serbia and Montenegro, said it is
encouraging to see more and more people from the country wanting to buy their
own homes, and the Bank stands ready to continue to support this through HVB
BANK and other institutions.
The EBRD is the largest investor in Serbia and Montenegro, with more than €583
million invested in 28 projects, and has helped mobilise more than €609
million in foreign investment.
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