September 26 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is investing 80 million euro ($77.43 million) in additional tier 1 (AT1) notes issued by Slovenia's Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) to support the financial sector and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country and the Western Balkans.
The notes are eligible as AT1 capital under the European Union’s Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and will be rated and listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, the EBRD said in a press release last week.
NLB will be the first Slovenian bank to issue a CRR-compliant AT1 instrument.
As part of the financing agreement, NLB will allocate to MSME lending across Slovenia and the Western Balkans an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the EBRD’s investment, supporting a continued flow of funding to MSMEs, according to the press release.
NLB is the largest banking group in Slovenia, with a market share of approximately 30% as of 30 June 2022 and a regional presence in five strategic Western Balkans markets, where it has a leading franchise. The bank is listed on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, while global depositary receipts representing shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. The EBRD is a minority shareholder in NLB, with a stake of 7.125%.
($ = 1.03313 euro)
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