Today in Belgrade, the EIF endorsed the selection of five local banks (Raiffeisen bank, UniCredit bank, Banca Intesa, ProCredit bank and Komercialna bank), which will implement the “EU for Serbia – financing for SMEs” Guarantee. The event took place in the presence of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, Ms Ana Brnabić, the State Secretary in the Ministry of Economy, Mr Milun Trivunac, and Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia, H.E. Mr. Sem Fabrizi.

EIF will provide a direct guarantee enabling the selected banks to support ca 1250 SMEs loans on favourable terms, such as reduced pricing, lower collateral, longer maturities or a combination of these.  Over the next three years the EU contribution of EUR 20 million will mobilise up to EUR 180 million in the form of loans at favourable terms.

About “EU for Serbia – financing for SMEs”

The “EU for Serbia – financing for SMEs” initiative is a dedicated to the Serbian companies Guarantee scheme, which is funded by the European Union, on the initiative of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Serbia and managed by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The scheme is deployed under the umbrella of the Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility (WB EDIF) – a platform for cooperation between the European Commission and the Financing Institutions active in the region with the purpose to provide financing and support to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).