Release date: 25 October 2023
Promoter – Financial Intermediary
UNITED BULGARIAN BANK ADLocation
Description
The project consists in a Linked Risk-Sharing Operation to support Bulgarian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-caps and large corporates.
Additionality and Impact
This Linked risk sharing operation is designed to provide support to mid-caps in order to foster their access to liquidity and contribute to the long-term economic growth in Bulgaria. The proposed operation is fully in line with the EU and the Bank's strategic objective to support uninterrupted access to finance for Mid-Caps through the provision of a fully delegated guarantee instrument. The operation addresses the underlying market failure in access to finance faced by Final Beneficiaries due to information asymmetries and credit considerations on the side of the Financial Intermediaries. Given the economic uncertainty exacerbated by supply chain constraints, inflation, rising interest rates and energy security constraints, the proposed risk sharing operation may alleviate some of the pressures faced by the real economy. The EIB contribution enables the United Bulgarian Bank to reach beneficiaries that are not covered by any of the existing guarantee schemes currently available to the Financial Intermediary. The EIB contribution rests on assuming credit risks and thereby allowing the Financial Intermediary to engage into transactions that it would not have engaged in without the EIB's intervention due to capital or credit risk related limitations. The final beneficiaries will benefit from the above additional lending made available by United Bulgarian Bank at typically beneficial terms, in the form of reduced interest rates, longer maturities and/or lower collateral requirements.
Objectives
The aim is to enhance access to finance to the final beneficiaries operating in EIB's eligible sectors such as innovation and environment.
Sector(s)
- Credit lines - Credit lines
Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
EUR 75 million
Total cost (Approximate amount)
EUR 210 million
Environmental aspects
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU environment and procurement legislation, as appropriate.
Procurement
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU environment and procurement legislation, as appropriate.
Status
Signed - 22/12/2023
Disclaimer
Before financing approval by the Board of Directors, and before loan signature, projects are under appraisal and negotiation. The information and data provided on this page are therefore indicative.
They are provided for transparency purposes only and cannot be considered to represent official EIB policy (see also the Explanatory notes).