October 12 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is considering a sovereign loan of up to 9.5 million euro ($11.2 million) to Bosnia, to be on-lent to its Serb Republic entity in support of local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The loan is planned to be extended in the form of a Standby Credit Line (SBCL) to provide funds to the Serb Republic's newly established Covid-19 Guarantee Programme for SMEs, the EBRD said in a statement on Friday.
"The project will enable Republika Srpska to have adequate funding arrangement in place to fully fund the COVID-19 Guarantee Programme increasing the capacity of one the most important Covid-19 response tools that will help SMEs gain access to finance swiftly," the bank said.
The EBRD loan will complement the funds that will be provided by the Serb Republic's government in the amount of 15.5 million euro.
The Serb Republic is one of two autonomous entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other is the Federation.
($=0.846814 euro)