A digest of recent news from the EBRD.
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Jürgen Rigterink reappointed First Vice President
The EBRD Board of Directors has reappointed Jürgen Rigterink to his current role as First Vice President, head of Client Services Group, and extended his tenure to 2 July 2025.
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said: “Jürgen has been at the forefront of increased focus on quality over investment volume, and of many initiatives at the Bank to improve the ways we work and communicate, showing leadership, commitment and empathy.”
What explains vaccination rates in the EBRD regions?
The regression analysis conducted by EBRD economists Cevat Aksoy, Maxim Chupilkin and Zsoka Koczan links differences in vaccination rates across more than 100 economies (including 28 economies in the EBRD regions) to average beliefs about safety of vaccines.
Economies with higher income per capita and better economic institutions tend to have higher vaccination rates, owing to better administrative capacity to roll out vaccination campaigns and higher levels of trust (which tend to be highly correlated with income and institutions).
Project signings and agreements
Residential energy efficiency in Poland
Thanks to a landmark scheme agreed between the EBRD and Poland’s major lender BNP Paribas Bank Polska (BNPPL), Poles will have the chance to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and cut their energy bills.
The EBRD is extending a local currency loan of PLN 450 million (around €100 million equivalent) to BNPPL for on-lending to private individuals willing to invest in energy-saving solutions and high-performing technologies in residential buildings across the country.
100 green buses for Mersin
The EBRD has extended a €15 million loan and a €7 million grant to ease the strain on public transport system in Mersin, a city in Turkey’s south. 100 new compressed natural gas (CNG) powered buses are set to replace an ageing fleet and improve the urban environment for almost 2 million people.
Supporting the tourism recovery in Turkey
The EBRD has extended a €25 million loan to Bartu Turizm Yatirimlari, a hotel joint venture between German travel and tourism company TUI Group and the Barut family in Turkey. The loan will refinance the company’s existing loans and expand training and career opportunities for youth and women in tourism sector.
Lending RSD 2.3 billion to OTP Banka Serbia
The EBRD is extending a loan of RSD 2.3 billion (equivalent to €20 million) to OTP banka Serbia AD Novi Sad for on-lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in Serbia. The credit line will bolster lending to private businesses in the form of working capital lines and investment loans, in particular, to SMEs operating in economically less-developed areas of the country.
New electric buses for Novi Sad
Citizens of Serbia’s second-largest city will benefit from more comfortable, greener public transport thanks to an €8 million loan to the city of Novi Sad from the EBRD to finance the purchase of up to 10 electric buses and accompanying charging infrastructure. The new buses will be used on two of the city’s busiest routes and will replace old, polluting diesel buses, thus helping to reduce air pollution in the city centre.
Stepping up support for tourism and agribusiness in Albania
Together with the government of Albania and the European Union (EU), the EBRD is committing up to €7.11 million of loans to eligible firms in the agribusiness and tourism sector, risk-shared with its partner bank, OTP Bank Albania. The funds will be provided through the Albania Agribusiness and Tourism Support Facility (AATSF), a framework aimed at improving access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.
€5 million loan to Kosovo’s Banka për Biznes
A €5 million loan to Banka për Biznes in Kosovo from the EBRD will support the competitiveness of SMEs in the country as part of the Western Balkans SME Competitiveness Support Programme, under which the EBRD provides loans and the European Union (EU) contributes incentive payments and technical assistance. The goal is to help SMEs modernise their activities and take advantage of trade opportunities in the Western Balkans region and wider European market.
Supporting Azerbaijani manufacturer GemZA Group
The EBRD is extending a €8 million loan to GemZA Group, a leading provider of engineering, procurement and repair services for rotating equipment, such as pumps and valves in Azerbaijan to enable the company to launch a new production facility that will increase the complexity of its repair work, produce a greater variety of spare parts and optimise costs and delivery times.
Irrigation upgrade in southern Tunisia
The Bank is improving access to irrigation water for more than 6,800 farmers and their families, with a €49 million loan to the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries in Tunisia to help to restore and rehabilitate the ageing water infrastructure serving 37 oases in the country’s southern governorates of Gabès, Gafsa, Kebili and Tozeur. The oases are the primary source of employment and income in the region, with irrigated agriculture providing jobs to 35 per cent of the working population.
EBRD, Attijari bank and Enda Tamweel to support small businesses in Tunisia
The EBRD is firming up access to finance for Tunisian MSMEs with providing Attijari bank with a second unfunded risk-sharing guarantee of 50 per cent on a loan to Enda Tamweel, the country’s leading microfinance institution.
Under the EBRD’s Risk Sharing Framework (RSF), Attijari bank will extend a loan of up to TND 40 million to Enda Tamweel for on-lending to local MSMEs, its core customers, which need financial support to cover liquidity shortages arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
EBRD and EU fund overhaul of Jordan’s largest landfill
To strengthen the resilience of Jordan’s infrastructure, the EBRD is providing a new financing package worth €14.7 million to the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) under the EBRD’s GAM Solid Waste Crisis Response Programme. It consists of a JOD 7.9 million EBRD loan to the GAM, backed by a €5 million grant from the EU.
Supporting MMK AGRO’s operations
Customers across Tajikistan will benefit from a greater variety and availability of fresh vegetables thanks to cooperation between the country’s largest private lender Bank Eskhata and the EBRD. The two financial institutions are providing new funds to support operations of the country’s leading vegetable grower MMK AGRO with a senior loan of up to US$ 2.2 million split into three tranches to finance MMK AGRO’s expansion, while half of the risk on the loan will be shared by the EBRD under the risk sharing agreement between the two banks.
Donors
Donor Update
The EBRD issued its new donor update, which includes the launch of a new multi-donor partnership on climate action, how the Bank and its partners promote gender equality in climate finance, and other ‘green’ news stories and highlights.
EBRD helps Armenian telecom provider realise true potential
FNET is a burgeoning internet and telecommunications provider in Armenia, which recently sought support from the EBRD and the European Union to achieve a strategic approach to human capital management and enhance its website and marketing activities.
EBRD in the media
First Vice President on climate action and private sector
To succeed in climate action, writes EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink in an op-ed for International Banker, we need the private sector. It has the power to channel trillions into the green transition—not only because of its financial power but also its innovative genius and ability to find new and inventive solutions.
The EBRD on social media
We congratulated Edward Bannerman on his new role as Director, Shareholder Relations.
We’re also getting in the mood for the holidays and the end of the year!
