€230 million to support lending to businesses in South-Eastern Europe
The EBRD has signed three credit lines worth a total of €230 million for subsidiaries of Eurobank EFG
Group in Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, for on-lending to private businesses operating in the three countries.
The EBRD credit lines will provide Bancpost S. A. (Romania), Eurobank EFG Bulgaria and Eurobank EFG (Serbia) with longer term senior financing to support their funding base, diversify and extend the maturity of their liabilities and help them continue lending to the economies of these countries.
Under the project, Bancpost S.A. will receive €95 million, Eurobank EFG Bulgaria AD (Postbank) €75 million and Eurobank EFG a.d. Beograd €60 million of new funding from the EBRD.
“The EBRD is pleased to expand its cooperation with Eurobank EFG Group in order to enhance the availability of funding to businesses in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia at a time when economic recovery remains relatively fragile”, said Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions.
“A year ago, Eurobank EFG Group has contributed together with the international financial institutions to support the economies of the region through the Vienna initiative; we are pleased to be collaborating with EBRD once again to reinforce business growth in these countries as their economies seem to get over the crisis” said Mr. Giorgio Pradelli, General Manager of Eurobank EFG Group and Head of International activities.
This package of loans, to be provided in two equal tranches, is part of the Joint International Financial Institutions Action Plan and follows other similar facilities offered to the subsidiaries of the major Western European strategic banking over the past 18 months.
Under the Joint IFI Action Plan, unveiled in February 2009, the EBRD, the World Bank Group and the European Investment Bank (EIB) pledged to provide €24.5 billion over two years to support the economies of eastern Europe via the banking sectors.
The EBRD, owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, is supporting the development of market economies and democracies in countries from central Europe to central Asia. www.ebrd.com
Eurobank EFG Group is a European banking organization with total assets of 86.9bn (1H10). The Group employs 23.000 people and offers its products and services both through its networks of over 1.600 branches and points of sale, and through alternative distribution channels in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, United kingdom, Luxembourg, and Cyprus. It is a member of EFG Group, an international banking group with presence across 40 countries. More information about Eurobank EFG can be found at www.eurobank.gr
From left to right:
1) Fokion Karavias, General Manager Global Markets2) Giorgio Pradelli, General Manager International Division3) Jean Marc Petterschmitt, Director Financial Institutions4) Nick Tesseyman, Managing Director Financial Institutions 5) Nicholas Nanopoulos, Chief Executive Officer6) Michalis Kiourktsoglou, Principal Banker Financial Insitutions
7) Ted Karakasis, Deputy General Manager International Division
7) Ted Karakasis, Deputy General Manager International Division