EIF wraps up year of MAP activity with important and first-ever guarantee agreement in Poland

After a record year in terms of number and geographic span of agreements signed under the European Commission's Multiannual Programme (MAP) mandate, EIF wraps up its 2004 MAP activity with an important deal in Poland, marking a first ever contract with a Polish intermediary.

Under the terms of the agreement, EIF will provide a direct guarantee to Bank BPH SA, covering medium and long-term investment loans to SMEs with up to 100 employees, including the financing of commercial vehicles under the Auto Sezam product. Thanks to EIF's guarantee, which will cover 50% of each loan included in the portfolio, final beneficiaries will benefit from enhanced access to loans (a greater lending rate) with reduced collateral requirements.

BPH forms part of the HVB group, which was established following the merger in December 2001 between Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy Spólka Akcyjna (HVB's former Polish subsidiary) and Powszechny Bank Kredytowy Spólka Akcyjna (former Bank Austria Creditanstalt's Polish subsidiary), financial institutions that have been operating on the market since 1989. BPH currently ranks third among the Polish financial institutions in terms of equity and total assets. It aims at maintaining and increasing its role as a universal bank with a selective market orientation and special focus on the SME domestic market.

Francis Carpenter, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, commented In geographic terms, for the EIF a principle macro initiative of the past year was to mobilise its resources in the new EU Member States following the 2004 enlargement and anticipating the forthcoming ones in Accession countries, where operations are essentially linked to the MAP guarantees mandate. For this reason, with the signing of this deal, EIF completes a full year of activity in the region with a total of EUR 282 million MAP guarantee agreements signed with institutions covering 12 out of the 13 new Member States and Accession Countries.

Alessandro Tappi, Head of EIF's Guarantees and Securitisation, added The new partnership established with Bank BPH, will support the development of a significant number of SMEs in Poland. EIF has so far gained significant experience with commercial banks in the New Member States through its fiduciary guarantee activity. This will likely open up new business opportunities also for its own risk operations, notably in the area of SME loan securitisation.