EBRD Announces Support to Real Economy
Sarajevo | 26 February 2010 |
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, announced on Friday it was to provide a financing package of up to €100 million to the Italian Intensa San Paolo Group for support to real economy in central and eastern Europe.
The EBRD said it was to increase availability of financing to the real economy with a financing package of up to €100 million for the Italian group's subsidiaries in Bosnia, Hungary and Serbia for on-lending to small and medium enterprises.
“Subject to completion of legal documentation, the facility includes three small and medium enterprises credit lines of €20 million to Intesa Sanpaolo Bank in Bosnia, €30 million to Banca Intesa Beograd and €50 million to CIB Bank in Hungary,” it said in a statement.
A part of the credit line to CIB Bank is denominated in Hungarian Forints, with the view to promoting local currency lending and reducing exposure to foreign currency risks for un-hedged sub-borrowers, it added.
“Through this project the EBRD reconfirms its commitment to help the economies of the region address the impact of the financial crisis,” the EBRD managing director for financial institutions, Nick Tesseyman, said in the statement.
“The funds provided to the three subsidiaries of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group will facilitate the access to much-needed financing for businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Serbia in the current tight credit markets,” he added.
The EBRD financing offered to Intesa Sanpaolo Group is part of a joint initiative of EBRD, the World Bank Group and the European Investment Bank Group to provide €24.5 billion in support of banking systems and lending to the real economy in central and eastern Europe.
Since the launch of the initiative a year ago the EBRD has made available more than €3.8 billion in new funds for the financial institutions sector in the countries zhere it operates.
