(l-r) Alexandros Kontopoulos, NBG Factors Managing Director, Andreea Moraru, EBRD Head of Greece and Cyprus, and Panagiotis Mavraganis, NBG Factors Head of Financial Services.
- EBRD €10 million trade finance facility to NBG Factors, the factoring subsidiary of National Bank of Greece
- Supporting growth of NBG Factors in terms of factoring portfolio for local SMEs and corporate clients engaged in domestic and international trade
- Greece is the most active country under the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP)
Businesses in Greece will benefit from a €10 million factoring facility provided to NBG Factors by the EBRD under its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP).
The new facility will enable NBG Factors (Ethniki Factors) to further expand its portfolio to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporate local clients by providing funding for domestic and international factoring transactions and by guaranteeing payment obligations in import trade.
Technical assistance, including e-learning, regular workshops, seminars and individual advisory services, will also be provided by the EBRD.
NBG Factors is the factoring subsidiary of the National Bank of Greece, a longstanding partner of the EBRD. The company occupies one of the leading positions in the Greek market. It offers a full range of services and has an annual turnover exceeding €2.7 billion.
Factoring is an important financing tool that can complement traditional bank lending. It proved to be extremely efficient during the financial crisis in Greece, allowing companies to improve their liquidity by receiving immediate working capital financing and thus managing their production cycles.
The EBRD’s TFP began in 1999, with the aim of promoting international trade between the economies where it invests, through the form of guarantees and short-term loans to selected participating banks and factoring companies. Greece has been the most active country under the TFP in terms of the number of guarantees issued.
The EBRD started operating in Greece on a temporary basis in 2015 to support the country’s economic recovery. To date, the Bank has invested over €3 billion in more than 50 projects in the corporate, financial, energy and infrastructure sectors of the Greek economy.
