Project Description
Provision of a senior unsecured loan of up to EUR 2 million to NLB Banka a.d. Podgorica ("NLBP") for on-lending to the residential sector in Montenegro. The loan will have two equal tranches. The second tranche is uncommitted and the commitment is EBRD's absolute discretion. The loan is envisaged under the Western Balkans Green Economy Financing Facility II ("WB GEFF II"). This will be the first WB GEFF II loan to NLBP and will enable the bank to promote green economy investments in the country.
Project Objectives
The loan will support investments in high-performance green technologies, materials and solutions undertaken in privately-owned residential dwellings or buildings. 100 per cent of the use of the proceeds will be eligible to Green Economy Transition ("GET") investments.
Transition Impact
ETI score: 80
The project contributes to the overall objectives of WB GEFF II, supporting the Green and Competitive TI qualities.
Green: The project will contribute towards building a green economy by facilitating the expansion of lending for investments into high performance residential green economy technologies. The innovative lines of finance available through local financial institutions will help address the entrenched behaviour and demonstrate a business case for investing in higher performance technologies to end-beneficiaries, partner financial institutions and other market participants, thus creating green investment demand. The allocation to New Dwelling Window will be capped at 30% of the WB GEFF II framework.
Competitive: The project will contribute towards building a more competitive financial sector by strengthening the capacity of NLBP for financing green economy projects. Furthermore, the introduction of lending products based on green economy requirements going beyond prevailing standards will stimulate the development of the market for and supply of high performance green technologies, materials and services.
Client Information
NLB BANKA AD PODGORICA
NLB banka AD Podgorica (NLBP) is the second largest universal bank in Montenegro with total assets of EUR 772 mln as of 1H 2022 (market share of 14.1%) owned by NLB dd Ljubljana. In November 2021, NLBP completed the process of merging with Komercijalna banka Podgorica (KBP).
EBRD Finance Summary
EUR 2,000,000.00
Total Project Cost
EUR 2,000,000.00
Additionality
Additionality is achieved by combining the necessary long-term financing with TC and investment incentives into a package that promotes residential green economy investments in Montenegro. EBRD remains an only international financial institution in the Western Balkans which supports the green transition of the residential sector through intermediary finance in a comprehensive manner.
Environmental and Social Summary
Categorised FI (2019 ESP). NLBP will be required to implement the Environmental and Social Risk Management Procedures for Micro, SME and Corporate Lending; comply with the EBRD's Performance Requirements (PRs) 2, 4 and 9 including adherence to the expanded EBRD E&S Exclusion List and Referral List introduced with ESP 2019 and submit Annual E&S Reports to the Bank. All sub-loans will be required to comply with national environmental, health, safety and labour (EHSL) requirements. Investments into renewable energy will be required to following the appropriate EBRD Guidelines on renewables. Additionally, should the use of proceeds from EBRD investment be allocated to future solar sub-projects, the project will need to comply with the EBRD Solar Supply Chain Risk Management Approach.
Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing
TC: up to €2.965 million have been set for TC support at the facility level to support both PFIs and sub-borrowers (including individuals, housing collectives, suppliers and vendors of green technologies, and service providers). The objective of the TC is to transfer know-how and raise awareness about investment in modern energy efficiency technologies in the residential building sector to support a green economy transition in the WB. The TC is essential to supporting the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the facility. The TC fund for the proposed transaction is sourced from the SSF and the Government of Austria via HIPCA.
Non-TC: EUR 409,000 for investment incentives to sub-borrowers for the implementation of eligible sub-projects in line with the Policy Statement. The funds are sourced from the EU through the Western Balkans Investment Framework ("WBIF").
Company Contact Information
Marija Kovacevic
marija.kovacevic@nlb.me
+382 20 402 225
+382 20 402 061
www.nlb.me
Stanka Dragojevića 46
81000 Podgorica
Montenegro
Implementation summary
PSD last updated
09 Dec 2022
Understanding Transition
Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.
Business opportunities
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General enquiries
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Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)
The ESP and the associated Performance Requirements (PRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the PRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation as well as to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about environmental and social performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD additionally requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts arising from projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.
More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.
Integrity and Compliance
The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all activities of the Bank in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The Bank believes that identifying and resolving issues at the project assessment approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts, and also helps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.
OCCO is also responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, both within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. All matters reported will be handled by OCCO for follow-up. All reports, including anonymous ones, will be reviewed. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.
Access to Information Policy (AIP)
The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.
Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.
Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)
If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).
IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.
Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.
