The European Investment Bank (EIB) lends EUR 20 million to BRE Leasing to finance projects of small and medium sized enterprises and municipalities in Poland.
The EIB line of credit will finance small-scale projects in the fields of industry, services or tourism promoted by SMEs, including micro-enterprises. Under this loan, BRE Leasing will benefit from the SME Finance Facility representing a special scheme promoted by the EU Phare Programme. Its objective is to increase financing for the smaller segment of the SME market through providing EIB partner banks and leasing companies with incentives to further develop a strong and competitive SME sector in the new Member States.
Support for the development of micro-enterprises, small and medium-sized companies and municipalities is an EIB priority. This type of EIB lending helps to increase the productivity and competitive capacity of SMEs, which collectively make an important contribution to economic growth, modernisation and employment throughout Poland as well as provide municipalities with the funds to invest and place themselves as attractive areas for future investments.
To increase the access of Polish SMEs and municipalities to long term finance, the EIB joins its forces with well established financing institutions, like the BRE Leasing, that know the local market, have SMEs and municipalities as their customers and have a well developed network of branches. The current loan is a continuation of the successful cooperation with BRE Leasing, as it is the third loan granted by the EIB to this financial institution.
The priority of the EIB, the European Union's long term financing institution, is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States by financing sound investment.
Totally, the EIB has provided in Poland about EUR 2.1 billion - or 15% of the overall EIB lending in the country since 1990 - for the implementation of smaller projects (from EUR 40,000 to EUR 25 million) of SMEs and municipalities. Previously, the Bank has provided two loans to BRE Bank and BRE Leasing amounting to EUR 200 million.