Expanding lease finance to local businesses
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €25 million loan to Raiffeisen Leasing d.o.o. to expand lease financing to Croatian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Raiffeisen Leasing d.o.o. is the fourth-largest leasing company in Croatia with a focus on the small-business sector. The funds provided by the EBRD will be placed with local enterprises for the leasing of equipment, light commercial vehicles, trucks, trailers and vessels.
The loan to Raiffeisen Leasing d.o.o. is the third under the EBRD’s Croatian Leasing Sector Framework established in May 2014. The purpose of the Framework is to support the development of the leasing market in Croatia through the provision of term finance to MSMEs.
Vedrana Jelušić Kašić, EBRD Director for Croatia, said: “Under conditions where many small and medium-sized enterprises only have limited access to traditional finance, leasing represents an attractive and valuable alternative. We are pleased to cooperate with a leading provider like Raiffeisen Leasing to strengthen the role of leasing in the Croatian private sector. Better access to funds will encourage entrepreneurial activity which in turn will support the country’s return to growth”.
“This is the fourth cooperation arrangement agreed between the EBRD and Raiffeisen Leasing. More importantly, it reaffirms the importance of operating and financial leases in SME funding. We believe that SMEs are a key driver for economic growth in Croatia and we play an active role in developing their potential,” said Miljenko Tumpa, Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisen Leasing Croatia.
The EBRD has worked in Croatia since the country’s independence and has invested more than €3 billion in over 165 projects to date. The Bank’s activities include all areas of the economy and are especially strong in the infrastructure, corporate, financial institutions and energy sectors.