The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 37.5 million Global Loan to Komercní Banka, a.s., for investment projects of small and medium sized enterprises and municipalities in the Czech Republic.
The loan will co-finance small and medium sized municipal projects in the field of energy and energy savings, environmental protection, transport infrastructure, together with sectors like health, education, urban renewal and social housing. Tourism and services as well as projects supporting the knowledge-based society will also be funded by the loan. EIB is providing Komercní Banka with long term funds particularly suited for these purposes.
The loan is the first Global Loan extended by the Bank to Komercní Banka that is of one of the major Czech commercial banks and has an extensive knowledge of the local market particularly through its strong branch network in the country. It is adding one more bank to the twelve that are already on-lending EIB funds in the Czech Republic to finance smaller projects with investment cost of up to EUR 25 million.
The part of the loan that will support Czech municipalities will focus on regions bordering to Germany and Austria eligible to the Municipal Infrastructure Facility. This scheme is subsidised by EU grants under the Phare Programme.
The EIB, the European Union's financing institution; finances sound investments that foster balanced regional development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States as well as of Acceding Counties (Romania and Bulgaria). Since 1990 up to now in the Czech Republic the EIB has lent a total of EUR 7.2 billion.
Global Loans represent special credit lines to selected partner banks operating in the individual countries. This financial scheme is used by the EIB to finance projects by municipalities and in the SME sector with a total investment higher than EUR 40 000 and less than EUR 25 million. EIB partner banks, like Komercní Banka, then on-lend EIB funds under their own management, at their own risk and with their own conditions.