September 15 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian lender UniCredit Bulbank is providing 1 billion euro ($999 million) in new loans to local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under three synthetic securitisation operations backed by the EIB Group, which includes the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIF said on Thursday.
The portfolio is part of 5.6 billion euro in total which are being deployed to facilitate investments in small businesses, provide liquidity and enhance working capital in Bulgaria, Germany and Italy, the EIF said in a press release.
In Bulgaria, this is the first such transaction by UniCredit Group’s banks in the circular economy and energy efficiency division under an EIF junior tranche guarantee, the European risk finance provider noted.
The loans are being provided at preferential rates, with UniCredit Bank AG, the Italian banking group's German unit, acting as sole arranger.
The loan securitisation deal is part of a collaboration framework first established between UniCredit and the EIB in May 2021 to alleviate difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic for Italian large and medium-sized enterprises.
As much as 75% of the new 1 billion euro portfolio of additional loans originating from UniCredit were secured by the EIB with the help of the European Guarantee Fund, which is part of the EU mechanism to support the sectors of economy which were affected the most by the pandemic.
The operation, which will be fully rolled out in September thanks to additional funding and the synergy mechanism, has so far triggered 2.5 billion in corporate investment, according to the statement.
UniCredit Bulbank is Bulgaria's largest lender in terms of assets, most recent central bank data shows.
($ =1.0008 euro)
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