The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing two loans to support small and medium sized projects in Slovenia:
- EUR 25 million to Banka Celje d.d. and
- EUR 25 million to Gorenjska banka d.d.
Both loans are designed to reduce the impact of the current economic crisis by improving access to medium and long-term funds on advantageous financial terms. To this end the EIB has simplified its procedures and broadened the scope of its financing by also covering intangible types of investment. In addition, the Bank is increasing transparency by working towards a more effective transfer of the advantage of EIB funds to the final beneficiaries.
Mrs. Marta Gajęcka, EIB Vice-President responsible for lending in Central and Eastern Europe, including Slovenia, commented: “The EIB funds will support the real economy in Slovenia in terms of strengthening the competitiveness of the SME sector and facilitating the implementation of priority infrastructure projects ”.
These are the EIB’s first operations with Banka Celje d.d. and Gorenjska banka d.d. and they increase the number of EIB partner financial institutions on-lending EIB funds in Slovenia with positive impacts to final beneficiaries – SMEs and municipalities.
These loans are a contribution of the EIB to the coordinated effort with other international financial institutions – the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank - to provide up to EUR 24.5 billion to support investments of the SME sector hit by the global economic crisis in the central and eastern European region. At the end of 2009 the EIB made available loans amounting to EUR 10.8 billion reaching in this regard almost its two-year objective - to provide EUR 11 billion - within one year.
Background:
The task of the EIB, the European Union’s financing institution, is to contribute to the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States by financing sound investment.
Since 1991, the EIB has signed loan contracts in Slovenia amounting to EUR 3.5 billion, out of which some EUR 1 billion (including the current loans) supported SME and municipality projects.