FIF - Sustainable Reboot SME - Erste Bank Serbia

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Provision of a long-term senior unsecured loan to Erste Bank AD Novi Sad ("EBS") for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") in Serbia. The loan is envisaged under the Sustainable Reboot SME Programme.

Project ID 53734

Status Repaying

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Nikolija Milojevic
nikolija.milojevic@erstebank.rs
+381112015058
www.erstebank.rs
Bulevar Milutina Milankovica 11070 Novi Beograd

Project ID 53734

Status Repaying

Location

Serbia

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

21 Jun 2022

Disclosure date

16 Jun 2022

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

FIF - Sustainable Reboot SME - Erste Bank Serbia (Serbian) (PDF, 0.65MB)

Project description

Project objectives

The loan is intended to provide financing for on-lending to local SMEs for investments in high performance technologies and services in order to introduce and implement EU and other international quality standards. At least 70 per cent of the use of the proceeds is expected to be related to Green Economy Transition ("GET") investments.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

project aims at enhancing the competitiveness and supports green investments by MSMEs in Serbia by facilitating SMEs' increased competitiveness and prioritising investments that result in compliance with EU Directives and other relevant international standards. The project will also facilitate investments in green technologies that will drive the transition to an environmentally sustainable, lower-carbon and climate-resilient green economy.

Client information

ERSTE BANK AD NOVI SAD

EBS is a dynamic bank focused on operations with retail clients, municipalities and small and medium-sized enterprises, with an experienced management team and consistently strong performance. The bank has a market share of 6 per cent and is ranked 7th by total assets among 22 banks operating in Serbia. It is a subsidiary of Erste Group, an Austria-based banking group with over 200-year tradition, one of the largest financial services providers in the Central Eastern and South Eastern regions of Europe in terms of clients and total assets. EBS is a systematically-important bank in Serbia according to Central Bank classification

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 15,000,000.00

Total project cost

EUR 15,000,000.00

Additionality

Combining the necessary long-term financing with technical support and targeted investment incentives into a package that promotes green investments that will improve the competitiveness of SMEs.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised FI (ESP 2019). EBS is an existing client and its performance to date for existing exposures has been satisfactory. EBS will be required to continue to comply with PRs 2, 4 and 9, implement the EBRD's E&S Risk Management Procedures for Corporate, SME and Micro Loans including adherence to the expanded EBRD E&S Exclusion List and Referral List introduced with ESP 2019 and submit annual E&S reports to the Bank. Sub-borrowers financed through EBS' loan will be required to comply with national environmental, health, safety and labour (EHSL) requirements. The GET share associated with this transaction is 70%.

The Project's use of proceeds or allocated multiple may include solar sub-projects. Such sub-projects will be managed in line with 'The Proposed Management Approach for Solar Supply Chain Risk Management' (CS/FO/21-35) and any subsequent guidance developed under that approach.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The project will be supported by a comprehensive technical assistance to EBS and sub-borrowers to facilitate the project preparation and successful implementation of the Reboot SME programme.

The source for TC funds is the EBRD's Shareholders' Special Fund and other potential donors.

The source for non-TC funding is Norway, Luxemburg, United States of America via the Small Business Impact Fund and other potential donors.

Company Contact Information

Nikolija Milojevic
nikolija.milojevic@erstebank.rs
+381112015058
www.erstebank.rs
Bulevar Milutina Milankovica 11070 Novi Beograd

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

16 Jun 2022

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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FIF - Sustainable Reboot SME - Erste Bank Serbia

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)