The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Raiffeisenbank a.s., have signed a Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) loan guarantee agreement in the Czech Republic to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
This guarantee with Raiffeisenbank will allow the bank to substantially increase its lending volumes to businesses and will help to generate a new portfolio of loans worth up to EUR 66m over the next three years. Over 300 Czech companies are expected to benefit from this transaction.
This transaction under the CIP will enable SMEs in the Czech Republic to have easier access to finance while benefiting from substantially reduced collateral requirements.
Commenting on the announcement, EIF Head of Guarantees, Securitisation & Microfinance Alessandro Tappi said: “I am delighted to be signing this agreement under the CIP Programme in the Czech Republic for the benefit of SMEs. Allowing Raiffeisenbank to increase lending will help entrepreneurs in The Czech Republic to develop their businesses”.
Raiffeisenbank´s Head of SEMM business Václav Štetina commented: “We believe that Czech economy restarted its growth after the crisis, therefore we expect stronger corporate loan demand and further expansion of our loan portfolio. This cooperation with EIF enables our clients to receive advantageous loans up to 20 milllion CZK with simple guarantee procedures.”
About the European Investment Fund (EIF)
EIF's central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 7.9bn at end 2013. With investments in over 435 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 5.6bn in over 300 operations at end 2013, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.
About Raiffeisenbank a.s.Raiffeisenbank a.s. has been providing a wide range of banking services to individuals and corporate clients in the Czech Republic since 1993. Raiffeisenbank renders services to its clients via a network of more than 120 branch offices and client centres. Total assets of the bank amount to nearly CZK 200 billion. According to this particular figure, Raiffeisenbank is the fifth largest bank operating in the Czech market. The bank has celebrated 20 years anniversary at the Czech market in 2013. From the bank with 2 branches and 29 employees it has grown by an organic growth to a bank with more than 120 branches and 2800 employees in the end of 2013.
The majority shareholder of the bank is Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI). RBI regards both Austria, where it is a leading corporate and investment bank, and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as its home market. The Raiffeisen group has been regularly recognized as the “Best Bank in Central and Eastern Europe” by such prestigious business publications such as Euromoney, Global Finance or The Banker.
Press information:EIF: David Yormesor, d.yormesor@eif.org
Raiffeisenbank a.s.: Tomáš Kofron, tomas.kofron@rb.cz, +420 221 141 170, www.rb.czWe use cookies to give the best browser experience on our website. or change cookie settings.
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