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Supporting Slovenia's leasing market
€10 million loan to SKB Leasing under EU/EBRD SME Facility
The EBRD is lending €10 million to Slovenia’s SKB Leasing to finance leases to micro- and small-enterprises in amounts of up to €125,000.
SKB Leasing is owned by SKB banka d.d., a member of the French Société Générale Group. The loan comes under the leasing window of the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility and will be complemented by €300,000 in financial incentives from the European Commission to improve risk management and marketing activities.
Small enterprises are the main customers in commercial vehicle and industrial equipment leasing, the two segments SKB Leasing is focused on. “The loan will allow SKB Leasing to be a strong leasing provider to small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the primary source of job creation,” said Jonathan Woollett, Director, Non-Bank Financial Institutions, at the EBRD. “It will facilitate access to finance for these companies, whose growth is critical to the structural transformation of the economy.”
Borut Vujcic, General Manager of SKB Leasing, said: “This loan is a very welcome opportunity for us to deepen the cooperation with Slovenian small and medium-sized enterprises and to make the local leasing market more accessible. The EBRD’s support for SMEs is fully in line with the strategy of SKB banka and SKB Leasing.”
The EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility, established in 1999, is a major provider of funds to SMEs in EU accession countries through commercial banks and leasing companies. The EBRD has committed €676 million to the overall facility which has generated some 40,000 loans and leases. The EU has committed more than €130 million in grant financing and for technical assistance.
The EU’s contribution comes under the Phare programme, one of the instruments financed by the European Commission to assist the candidate countries in their preparations for joining the European Union. In 2000-2006, Phare is providing some €11 billion of co-financing for projects in the EU accession countries. (For further information see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement)
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