November 21 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Fund (EIF) said on Monday it signed guarantee agreements with five Bulgarian banks which will generate a total of 385 million euro ($408.9 million) of finance to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The agreements signed with United Bulgarian Bank, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria, UniCredit Bulbank, Procredit Bank and CIBank, aim to improve access to finance for over 4,000 Bulgarian SMEs, including micro companies and start-ups, by ensuring that the banks committed to the SME initiative offer financing at lower interest rates, EIF said in a statement on its website.
The five guarantee transactions are covering two-thirds of the target 600 million euro of total SME funding available under the initiative.
"The signature of these agreements shows that the SME initiative in Bulgaria is delivering on its promises: to give fresh loans to small businesses and to support EU-wide goals of growth and job creation. I wish to see many other Member States follow the example of Bulgaria," European Commissioner, Corina Cretu said in the statement.
The SME Initiative is a joint programme blending support from the European Commission, EIB Group and EU member states with a view to stimulating SME financing by providing partial risk cover for SME loan portfolios originated by financial entities. Alongside European structural and investment funds contributed by member states, the SME Initiative is co-funded through Horizon 2020 resources as well as benefiting from EIB Group resources.
"All of the five banks are important SME lenders in Bulgaria and via the SME Initiative will be vital partners in providing support for entrepreneurs wishing to grow and develop their business," EIB Vice-President, Andrew McDowell, commented in the statement.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIB, the EU’s long-term lending institution, is owned by the EU member states.
($= 0.9413 euro)
UniCredit Bulbank AD is among the biggest banks in SEE. You can download our SEE Top 100 ranking
here or subscribe to our free Top 100 newsletter
here