FIF - WB YiB II - Union Bank (EFSD+1)

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a senior unsecured loan of up to EUR 2.0 million to be made available in two tranches to Union Bank ("UB") under the Western Balkans Youth in Business ("WB YiB") Programme. The second tranche will be uncommitted.

Project ID 55880

Status Disbursing

Location

Albania

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Emila Vucini
emila.vucini@unionbank.al
+355 4 238 8097
www.unionbank.al
Bulevardi Zogu i I, Sheshi Ferenc Nopçka, Nd. 5, H. 3, Njësia Bashkiake Nr. 9, Kodi Postar 1016, Tirana, Albania

Project ID 55880

Status Disbursing

Location

Albania

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

26 Nov 2024

Disclosure date

06 Dec 2024

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

FIF - WB YiB II - Union Bank (EFSD+1) (Albanian) (PDF, 0.00MB)

Project Description

Project Objectives

The proposed operation will comply with the criteria under the WB Youth in Business Programme. The proceeds of the Bank's investment will be used for eligible Youth MSMEs in accordance with the respective Policy Statement.

Transition Impact

ETI score:72

roject contributes to the objectives of the FIF, supporting the Transition Impact qualities of Inclusive and Competitive:

Inclusive: The project will contribute to the economic inclusion of young enteprenuers by supporting Youth SMEs' access to finance and business advisory services, while demonstrating the business case for scaling-up lending to the Youth SME segment.

Competitive: Transition impact is expected to derive from market expansion and through building a more competitive financial sector by strengthening the capacity of the Partner Financial Institutions (PFIs) for financing Youth SMEs.

Client Information

UNION BANK SHA

Union Bank ShA ("UB") is a mid-size bank in Albania, mainly focusing on SME and retail lending. As of end-2Q2024, UB was the 8th largest bank in the country (out of 11) in terms of both assets and loan portfolio, with 5.1% and 6.4% market share, respectively.

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 First Loss Risk Cover into a package that promotes investment in Youth SMEs in Albania.

Furthermore, UB will make use of EBRD expertise for the adoption of gender standards and equal opportunities action plans. In particular, UB will support the EBRD's policy dialogue and actively participate in the events and workshops aimed at improving their understanding of the segment and the challenges that women face in accessing finance as part of the EBRD-led nation/region-wide public-private policy dialogue activities.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The Programme is supported by the governments of Sweden via Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Italy via the Central European Initiative, Luxembourg via the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund to support PFI's capacity building and Youth MSMEs.

Company Contact Information

Emila Vucini
emila.vucini@unionbank.al
+355 4 238 8097
www.unionbank.al
Bulevardi Zogu i I, Sheshi Ferenc Nopçka, Nd. 5, H. 3, Njësia Bashkiake Nr. 9, Kodi Postar 1016, Tirana, Albania

PSD Last Updated

11 Dec 2024

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) 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 also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of 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 of the Bank's activities 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 EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either 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. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. 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, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. 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 (for example, 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 the 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 and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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FIF - WB YiB II - Union Bank (EFSD+1)

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project Description

Project Objectives

Transition Impact

Client Information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total Project Cost

Additionality

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD Last Updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

FIF - WB YiB II - Union Bank (EFSD+1)

Overview

Company Contact Information

Project Description

Project Objectives

Transition Impact

Client Information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total Project Cost

Additionality

Environmental and Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD Last Updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)