December 7 (SeeNews) - The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Bulgaria's National Guarantee Fund (NGF) have signed a framework agreement aiming to support pandemic-hit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates by offering guarantees to commercial banks in the country, BSTDB said.
The agreement is expected to promote some 75 million euro ($84.7 million) of new financing, as well as to help around 250 local SMEs cope with the negative impact of the pandemic on their business, the bank said in a press release on Monday.
Given the ample liquidity available to Bulgaria's financial sector, guarantees to commercial banks are a viable and practical alternative to support economic activity, increasing BSTDB’s presence and development impact in Bulgaria, the bank added.
BSTDB, headquartered in Thessaloniki, Greece, is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The bank supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects, together with trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries.
($ = 0.8858 euro)