The European Investment Bank is granting two global loans to finance projects of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and municipalities in Slovakia: EUR 50 million to Slovenská Sporitel’ňa, a.s. and EUR 20 million to ČSOB Leasing Slovakia, a.s.. The loans will be used to fund smaller projects in the areas of environmental protection and improvement, rational energy use, infrastructure, industry, development of education and health care facilities services, urban renewal, tourism or other projects enhancing the knowledge-based economy in the Slovak Republic.
- The global loan signed with Slovenská Sporitel’ňa, a.s. is the first global loan with this bank. It will increase the EIB's number of partner banks in the Slovak Republic, making long-term financing more accessible to small and medium-sized companies and municipalities.
This is the first global loan in Slovakia involving the Municipal Infrastructure Facility and the Municipal Finance Facility proposed by the European Commission. These facilities support projects for building, refurbishing or upgrading of small-scale municipal infrastructure with total costs ranging between EUR 40 000 and EUR 5 million.
- The loan to ČSOB Leasing Slovakia a.s. is the first global loan signed with this financial institution, albeit the second one provided to the ČSOB group. The first ČSOB operation, totalling EUR 100 million and to which Slovak SMEs and municipalities also have access, is currently under implementation.
Both Slovenská Sporitel’ňa a.s. and ČSOB Leasing Slovakia a.s. will benefit from signed global loans under the SME Finance Facility, a special scheme promoted by the European Commission in connection with the Phare Programme. Aimed at further developing strong and competitive small and medium-sized enterprises in the new Member States, the SME Finance Facility provides the EIB's partner banks with incentives to lend to SMEs. These two global loans will further contribute to the rise in long-term financing for small-scale investments in the Slovak Republic - an important element in supporting economic growth.
Global loans are credit lines to financial intermediaries - EIB partner banks that on-lend EIB funds under their own management, at their own risk and own conditions but which should benefit from the EIB's favourable lending conditions. This type of lending is used by the EIB to finance small and medium-size projects with a total investment in excess of EUR 40 000 and lower than EUR 25 million.
Since 1990 the EIB has provided loans of over EUR 1.7 billion in Slovakia. Overall, in the new Member States of Central Europe, the EIB has lent more than EUR 27 billion in support of projects fostering European integration since 1990 and is therefore the most significant source of external finance for Central and Eastern Europe.