Bank participates in first four-year, PLN-denominated, senior unsecured bonds issuance
The EBRD has invested PLN 50 million (approximately €12 million equivalent) in a zloty-denominated, senior unsecured bonds issue by Euro Bank S.A. (Euro Bank). It was Euro Bank’s third PLN-denominated, floating rate senior bond issuance under their current bond programme.
The bonds will support Euro Bank’s sustained access to medium-term funding via the domestic debt capital market and facilitate its lending activities. The proceeds will allow the bank to diversify its funding base and strengthen its liquidity profile. As a result, Euro Bank will be able to expand its presence and activities on the Polish market which is expected to benefit the country’s real economy.
Euro Bank S.A. is a retail bank which started as a bank specialising in cash loans and today has a wide range of products for individual clients. It is owned by the French Group Société Générale. Fitch rating agency has assigned to Euro Bank a long-term rating (IDR) of "A-" with a stable outlook.
The EBRD’s investment aims to strengthen the local capital market, one of the Bank’s priorities in its activities in Poland to support sustainable growth and a resilient economy.
Lucyna Stańczak-Wuczyńska, EBRD Director for EU Banks in the Financial Institutions group, said: “The EBRD is pleased with the successful bond issuance by Euro Bank and to play a role in this as an investor. The placement will provide Euro Bank with additional funds which will be dedicated to the funding needs of private individuals.”
Grzegorz Zieliński, EBRD Regional Director for Poland and the Baltics, added: “This is an innovative step to strengthen the funding of Euro Bank and thus its further growth and expansion. This is the first four-year tenor of Euro Bank’s bonds, which illustrates the sound position the institution has already won and the recognition it enjoys in the market. With our participation in the issuance we aim to further support this development.”
Alexis Lacroix, CEO of Euro Bank, said: “We appreciate the active participation of the EBRD in our bonds issuances. The support from such a strong investor enables us not only to diversify our funding sources, but also helps to extend the maturity terms of issuances, which contributes to the development of the local capital market.”
Since the beginning of its operations in Poland in 1991, the EBRD has invested almost €8.5 billion in more than 380 projects in the country. In addition to its wide range of products for banks and companies, in recent years the EBRD has built a growing portfolio of investments (both equity and debt) in the Polish financial sector, for which demand remains high.
