|
EBRD loan to develop agribusiness in Croatia
Croatian agribusiness will be strengthened by a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The loan of DEM 20 million (ECU 10.6 million) to Dalmatinska Banka (DB), giving access to medium and long-term lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), was signed in London today.
At the signing, Jacques de Larosière, President of the EBRD, said: “This project will play a major role in the development of Croatian agribusiness by assisting in the financing of SMEs, which are central to the recovery of the sector as a whole. It will also promote the introduction of new products and services, especially longer-term loans, for the benefit of the emerging private agribusiness enterprises”.
The loan of two equal tranches of DEM 10 million (ECU 5.3 million) will finance medium and long-term investment projects of private and privatising companies in agribusiness and related industries. DB has already identified a number of eligible projects covering all areas of the industry, from primary production, agro-processing, food-packaging and distribution, through to wood-processing, aqua-culture and fisheries.
The project includes a Technical Cooperation Programme to finance the services of a credit adviser with agribusiness experience to assist DB for a period of one year in the screening, credit appraisal and monitoring of loans funded via the EBRD facility. The adviser will provide additional training to DB staff in project finance and loan appraisal.
Being the legal successor of Komunala Banka, DB was re-established as a joint-stock company in December 1989 with a universal banking licence. Ninth out of 50 Croatian banks in terms of its capital, DB is in the process of reducing the state’s holding in the bank (held indirectly through a number of state-owned companies) to complete its privatisation. With its traditional focus on the Dalmatian coast, where the bank is headquartered, DB is developing its operations throughout Croatia via a network of 14 branches and offices, employing approximately 390 staff.
|
