Bulgarian SMEs getting over 630 mln euro in loans from EIB, UniCredit Bulbank

The disbursement is made possible by the EIB and UniCredit Bulbank Bulgaria having signed a guarantee on a synthetic securitisation of SME and mid-cap loans that will be provided by Bulgaria's largest lender, the EIB said in a statement.

The notional amount of the guarantee is 90 million euro on an aggregate loan portfolio of 1 billion euro, which was first announced in September.

The SME liquidity mechanism is backed by the European Guarantee Fund (EGF) under the European Union’s 540 billion euro COVID-19 response package.

Bulgarian SMEs from various sectors of the economy will have access to financing at more favourable terms for new eligible projects that will help alleviate the fallout effects on business from the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine by improving employment, enhancing innovation and ultimately spurring growth and competitiveness in the Bulgarian economy, the EIB noted.

"We create opportunities for companies in Bulgaria to fulfill their plans and thanks to our longstanding partnership with the European Investment Bank and the agreement that we have signed, we can offer even better opportunities for financing. We are glad that we can provide valuable support for the business under the current challenges and the rising price of financing on a global scale," Tsvetanka Mintcheva, CEO and chair of the management board of UniCredit Bulbank, said.

The deal is is expected to achieve a very strong signalling effect for the Bulgarian banking market, the EIB added.

The lending arm of the European Union and UniCredit Bulbank Bulgaria announced in September they will foster access for Bulgarian SMEs to a total of 1 billion euro in new financing under three separate synthetic securitisation operations.

($ =1.02681 euro)