SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), December 1 (SeeNews) – The European Investment Fund (EIF) said it has signed the first COSME agreement with ProCredit Bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PCBH) to provide guarantees for 30 million euro ($35.8 million) of new loans to small and medium-sized local businesses.
The proposed transaction, backed by the EU COSME programme will allow PCBH to offer new debt financing products with substantially reduced collateral requirements to SMEs, EIF said in a statement on Thursday.
The agreement will result in increased credit risk taking for 300 Bosnian and Herzegovinian SMEs over the period of 3 years, it added.
"EIF is delighted to be signing the first COSME guarantee agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Business support and job creation lies at the heart of EIF’s strategy and this new transaction will contribute to driving growth both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and across Europe", said EIF chief executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance.
ProCredit Bank BiH, part of the ProCredit group headquartered in Frankfurt, is a development-oriented commercial bank specialised in serving small and medium-sized companies.
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