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EBRD lends €30 million to Raiffeisen subsidiaries
Loans to help small and medium businesses to grow
The EBRD and Raiffeisen International (RI), one of the leading banking groups
in central and eastern Europe (CEE), are teaming up to increase support for
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across three countries in Southeast
Europe.
RI leasing subsidiaries in Bulgaria (Raiffeisen Leasing Bulgaria) and Bosnia
and Herzegovina (Raiffeisen Leasing Sarajevo) will each receive €10 million
EBRD loans. The funds will be made available to entrepreneurs, giving them the
opportunity to expand their business, for example by leasing production
equipment.
The Bank is also lending the Raiffeisen International subsidiary in Kosovo
(Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo) €10 million to boost entrepreneurship in the province
by offering small and medium businesses more access to capital to build new
businesses or to expand existing ones.
Kurt Geiger, EBRD Business Group Director for Financial Institutions, said RI
is an important partner for the EBRD in reaching out to private-sector
business. Banks like RI are vehicles which enable us collectively to reach
into the heart of the entrepreneurial sector, helping to create jobs, and
boost economic growth, he added.
Herbert Stepic, CEO of Raiffeisen International, highlighted the history of
fruitful co-operation between the EBRD and RI. It is of utmost importance that
the EBRD provides financing to the backbone of developing economies helping
entrepreneurs to grow their business. Due to our strong position in the
region, Raiffeisen is an ideal partner to distribute these funds, said Mr
Stepic.
The loan to Raiffeisen Leasing in Bulgaria comes under the EU/EBRD SME Finance
Facility - Leasing Window and will be complemented by a grant of €1.1 million
from the European Commission for technical assistance and financial
incentives. The EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility is a joint programme of the
European Commission and the EBRD, supporting the development and growth of
entrepreneurs in 11 countries. Since the launch of this Facility in 1999, EBRD
has committed a total of €985 million to signed projects to date, and the EC
has contributed €157 million in grant financing and technical assistance.
The loans to Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo and Raiffeisen Leasing Sarajevo come under
the Western Balkans Finance Facility, a €50 million framework approved by the
EBRD to finance SMEs in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Kosovo
and Serbia and Montenegro. The Canadian government is providing technical
assistance funds of up to €400,000 to Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo and €300,000 to
Raiffeisen Leasing, Sarajevo to review and develop credit procedures for SME
financing, enhance risk management and train credit officers.
The EBRD is the largest investor in CEE and the Commonwealth of Independent
States, having invested more than €30 billion, and to date mobilised more than
a total €94 billion. For further information about the Phare programme, the
main channel for the EU’s financial and technical cooperation with accession
countries, see the EU
enlargement site.
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