EIB supports small and medium companies in Serbia – Agreements on loans worth EUR 110 million signed

The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed agreements on loans worth EUR 110 million for support to projects of small and medium enterprises (SME) and infrastructural projects of local self-governments.

The funds will be provided to banking and leasing branch offices of Intesa Sanpaolo and Societe Generale Serbia, the EIB reported. This is the first amount from the credit line of EUR 190 million that the EIB has already approved to these banking groups for supporting Serbia’s economy.

Societe Generale – EUR 60 million (total planned amount EUR 110 million)

– Societe Generale Bank and SoGelease, 100% owned by SG, signed two agreements with the European Investment Bank on loans for support to small and medium enterprises, enterprises of medium market capitalization and priority projects in the amount of EUR 60 million today.

The credit arrangement amounts to a total of EUR 110 million, and the remaining funds will be made available in early 2018, SG reported.

The agreements were signed by Maria Rousseva, head of the Executive Board of Societe Generale Bank Serbia, and Boris Stevic, head of the Executive Board of SoGelease.

The funds provided will be used to finance working capital loans and investments with repayment periods of up to 12 years for loans approved by Societe Generale Bank and up to 7 years for investment loans from SoGelease, the press release says.

This way, SGB and SoGelease expect to further stimulate the local economy financially, especially the SME sector, the press release adds.

Intesa – EUR 50 million (total planned amount EUR 80 million)

Banca Intesa and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an agreement on the first drawdown of the credit line, worth EUR 30 million, which Intesa will direct at small businesses and medium enterprises through long-term loans under terms more favorable that the market ones, Intesa reported. The amount is part of the credit line of EUR 60 million in total, approved by the EIB to Banca Intesa for support to small and medium enterprises.

– On the road to further economic recovery, the latest credit line secured in cooperation with the EIB will enable us to give additional stimulation to this segment of the business sector through very favorable sources of finance in the long term – stated Draginja Djuric, head of the Executive Board of Banca Intesa.

Banca Intesa will approve the loans from the EIB credit line with repayment periods of two to twelve years and a grace period of up to two years. The loans may be used to finance permanent working assets, to purchase, reconstruct or expand fixed assets aside from land, non-material investments, development, planning and financial expenses during the construction period, research and development expenditures, as well as the development of the distribution network in the country and abroad.

Intesa Leasing, which also operates as part of the international banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, also signed an agreement on a credit line of EUR 20 million with the EIB on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.

– The funds are meant for small and medium enterprises and may be used to finance commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as real estate for own business needs, and are approved with a repayment period of two to seven years – the press release specifies.