Austria’s Steiermarkische Bank und Sparkassen Sets Up Leasing Unit in Macedonia, Plans To Invest 10 Mln Euro

“We believe in the potential of the Macedonian market and with our competitive services and experience we want to help the development of the country’s economy,” S-Leasing director Sasa Boko told a news conference.

S-Leasing offers financial and operative lease of passenger and cargo vehicles, boats, machinery as well as construction and industrial equipment.

Steiermarkische Bank und Sparkassen owns of 90% of S-Leasing, while the remainder is owned by Macedonia’s Investbanka AD in which the Austrian company is a 96% shareholder.

Graz-based Steiermarkische was founded in 1825 and is the second largest bank in the Austrian Savings Banks Group, managed by Erste Bank. Erste Bank owns 25% of Steiermarkische, which has total assets of 12.2 billion euro with 170 offices and 1,650 employees in Austria. Steiermerkische also has a significant presence in other countries in southeast Europe: Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, with a total of 245 offices and 3,500 employees.

A total of eight leasing companies operated in Macedonia at the end of 2008, Finance Ministry data showed.

($=0.6812 euro)