September 14 (SeeNews) - Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria signed a new guarantee deal with the European Investment Fund (EIF) for an additional 130 million euro ($154.4 million) in loans to be extended to local small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the coronavirus crisis, the bank said on Monday.
The agreement was signed under the COSME programme - part of the European Union’s instruments for overcoming the economic crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Under the contract, Bulgarian SMEs will be able to access working capital financing backed by an 80% guarantee provided by the EIF on each new loan of up to 150,000 euro, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria said in a statement.
The EIF has committed some 150 million euro to date to mitigate the COVID-19 economic impact on Bulgarian businesses, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria noted.
In July, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria signed an 18 million euro guarantee agreement with the EIF under the EU's InnovFin programme for loans to local innovative companies hit by the crisis.
($ = 0.841958 euro)
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