The European Investment Bank (EIB) granted new loans worth EUR 530m and the European Investment Fund (EIF – together with EIB forming the EIB Group) implemented operations in Croatia amounting to EUR 16m in 2016. The Bank continued to support projects in the country focused on reducing disparities in regional development, strengthening economic competitiveness and improving citizens’ living standards and quality of life.
Total EIB financing in Croatia equates to 1.2% of the country’s GDP, the third highest figure among EU Member States.
EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco, who presented the results in Zagreb today and pledged to maintain the high level of EIB involvement in Croatia in the future, commented: “Last year was a successful year for the EIB in Croatia, where we signed loans totalling EUR 530m, representing a 50% increase compared to 2015. In the coming years, we will focus on catalysing private capital and implementing projects entailing higher risks.”
Under the Investment Plan for Europe (IPE) in 2016 the EIB signed the first operation in Croatia guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), set up as part of the IPE. This operation represents a EUR 50m guarantee with HBOR (Hrvatska Banka za Obnovu i Razvitak, wholly owned by the Republic of Croatia) aiming to generate new finance for midcap companies and other priority projects in Croatia in the future. It is structured as a risk-sharing instrument to cover up to 50% of the credit risk associated with a portfolio of existing loans outstanding on HBOR's balance sheet. With the resources made available by the guarantee, HBOR will be able to grant new loans of up to EUR 100m to midcaps and other eligible promoters. The proposed guarantee instrument is designed to enable the financial intermediary to provide new loans for midcaps.
In 2016 the EIB continued to support SMEs and youth employment, both key pillars of EIB activity in Croatia, through the signing of two new loans with HBOR totalling EUR 400m to support projects by local SMEs and midcap companies. One of these new operations forms part of the EIB’s “Jobs for Youth Initiative”, under which the EIB and HBOR provide additional support to final beneficiaries if they can demonstrate that their investment project financed under the facility has contributed to the creation of jobs for young people. In addition, the EIB granted a EUR 40m loan to Privredna Banka Zagreb d.d. (PBZ) and a EUR 40m loan to Raiffeisenbank Austria d.d. towards improving SMEs’ access to medium and long-term funds on advantageous financial terms.
In 2016 in Croatia, the EIF committed EUR 16.2m in three guarantee operations aimed at raising EUR 76m and supporting 2 410 jobs.