- UniCredit Bank Mostar to expand SME lending in the country
- €10 million equivalent guarantee to UniCredit Bank Mostar
- New financial instrument strengthening the financial sector’s resilience
Small businesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina will benefit from more access to finance from UniCredit Bank Mostar thanks to an innovative financial instrument provided by the EBRD.
An EBRD guarantee worth the equivalent of €10 million will allow UniCredit Bank Mostar to free up capital and expand investments in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) segment.
The guarantee will support the development of a new risk-sharing instrument, currently not available in the local market.
The guarantee was signed today in Sarajevo by EBRD Managing Director, Financial Institutions, Francis Malige, and by the President of the Managing Board of UniCredit Bank Mostar Dalibor Ćubela, during the EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum. The event offers an opportunity to showcase Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rest of the Western Balkans as an attractive investment destination for the private sector.
The investment is supported by €1 million grant from the government of Norway.
“We are very proud that UniCredit Bank Mostar has been recognised as a reliable partner and has an opportunity to expand SME lending in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are well aware of the importance of providing support to SMEs and their role for the local economic development“ Dalibor Ćubela, President of the Managing Board of UniCredit Bank Mostar, said.
The project will promote a robust SME sector, which is crucial in the country as much as in need of financing, it will foster deeper financial intermediation to reach under-served market segments and strengthen competition and market effectiveness in the financial sector.
The EBRD is a major investor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the beginning of its operations in the country, it has invested €2.3 billion in 159 projects.