- Support for small and medium enterprises affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
- UniCredit will provide financing with more favourable conditions
- The operation is backed by the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), part of the European Union's EUR 540 billion COVID-19 response package agreed last year
The European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide EUR 700 million in guarantees to UniCredit, allowing the lender to provide up to EUR 1 billion of financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia to accelerate the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EIF guarantees stem from the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), a EUR 25 billion guarantee facility set up by the EIB Group in 2020 to boost the post-COVID-19 recovery of the European economy, safeguard jobs, and provide much needed liquidity to European SMEs. The breakdown of the guarantee agreement is as follows: In Bulgaria (up to EUR 185m), Slovakia (up to EUR 310m), Slovenia (up to EUR 80m) and Croatia (up to EUR 325m). The remaining portfolio volume will be allocated across the four countries in accordance with the observed demand.
The UniCredit Group members in the above four countries, including banks and leasing institutions, will offer loans and other financial products to SMEs under more favourable terms including reduced interest rates, longer grace periods, lower collateral requirements or extended maturities. The loans will be available to SMEs operating in the sectors of economy hardest hit by the pandemic and accelerate the recovery of national economies.
Roger Havenith, Deputy Chief Executive of the EIF, said: "The COVID-19 crisis is still with us and businesses across Europe are experiencing the economic consequences. The EIF partnership with UniCredit Group will provide much needed financing for small and medium-sized businesses in four countries. Our cooperation will save jobs, boost investments and competitiveness of SMEs and thereby contribute to a faster economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. I want to thank UniCredit Group for their long-standing partnership and look forward to continued cooperation in the future."
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova commented: "I am delighted that under the European Guarantee Fund, the EIF is announcing a new partnership with UniCredit Group to unlock up to EUR 1 billion of more accessible financing for SMEs in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The EIB Group stands ready to partner with financial institutions and companies across Europe to support the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic."
Gianfranco Bisagni, Head of Central Europe and Teodora Petkova, Head of Eastern Europe at UniCredit, added: "We are offering continued support to European SMEs and mid-caps that play such a central role in our economies. Thanks to these guarantees and to our strong pipeline we will be able to increase the overall financing up to EUR 1bn, being able to further offer our clients favourable terms to manage their liquidity, finance their future investments and drive forward the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis".
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