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Helping Slovenian SMEs gain more access to finance
€7 million EBRD loan to VB LB supports entrepreneurs
The EBRD is lending Volksbank – Ljudska banka (VB LB), the Slovenian arm of
Austria’s Oesterreichische Volksbanken AG, €7 million to help small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain access to more finance to build or expand
their businesses.
The loan is part of the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility, a programme of the EU in
cooperation with the EBRD to promote SME growth and development across the new
EU countries and EU accession countries. The loan is being complemented with a
grant of €1 million from the European Commission for technical assistance and
other incentives to support staff training and to ensure successful
implementation of the programme.
Entrepreneurs employing up to 100 employees can draw up to €125,000 per each
loan from VB LB under the agreement, while smaller businesses employing up to
10 employees can draw up to €30,000.
François Lecavalier, EBRD Head of Office for Slovenia, said the loan is part
of a wider EBRD initiative to work with banks in Slovenia to enable
entrepreneurs to gain more access to finance and become more competitive. The
EBRD currently works with 6 banks in Slovenia, supporting the SME sector.
Furthermore, this latest loan builds on the EBRD-Volksbank relationship in
central and eastern Europe, where both institutions work successfully in 6
countries to support this sector, said Mr Lecavalier.
With its headquarters in Ljubljana, the capital city, Volksbank – Ljudska
banka has been successfully active on the Slovene market since 1993. The bank
has branches in eight towns and cities throughout Slovenia, giving it a wide
reach among the country’s population.
Gaspar Ogris-Martic, Volksbank – Ljudska banka Director, said the loan is part
of wide and successful cooperation with EBRD on promoting environment (GEF)
and supporting small and medium size companies (SME), which is in line with
the bank strategy. The proposed facility will support new SME clients of
Volksbank – Ljudska banka under competitive market conditions.
The SME Facility was launched in 1999 under the Phare Programme - the main
channel for the EU's financial and technical cooperation with the EU accession
countries - with the EBRD. The Bank is making available €1.1 billion for the
facility, of which €895 million has been committed to signed projects to date.
The EC has been contributing €156.75 million in grant financing and for
technical assistance since the launch of the programme in 1999.
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