HBOR HBOR and EIB: EUR 250 million for SMEs projects
Hrvatska banka za obnovu i razvitak (HBOR) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed today the Finance Contract in the amount of EUR 250 million to support the projects of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

EIB was represented by Mr Dario Scannapieco, Vice-President responsible for operations in Croatia, and HBOR by Dušan Tomašević, President of the Management Board, and Goran Filipić, Member of the Management Board.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Finance Zdravko Marić.This is the second part of a total EUR 500 million credit line for SMEs aimed at sustaining the Country’s economic recovery after several years of recession; the first EUR 250 million tranche with HBOR, the bank owned 100% by the Republic of Croatia, was signed in 2014.

The loan will contribute to the implementation of projects in the areas of industry services, tourism and other priority sectors. This loan operation contributes to the EIB “Jobs for Youth Initiative” whereby EIB and HBOR would additionally support final beneficiary if they can document that their investment project financed under the facility has also contributed to the creation of youth employment.

“This operation reaffirms our commitment in supporting Croatian economy and also strengthens our well-established cooperation with HBOR. On the basis of EIB-HBOR partnership, in the recent years more than EUR 2 billion of new resources were channelled through SME as well Mid-Cap and local municipality projects in Croatia”, noted Scannapieco.

“We at HBOR have always been trying to be side by side with, or even ahead of, the needs of our entrepreneurs in order to provide them with the best possible terms and conditions of finance and enable them to improve their competitiveness in both the domestic and foreign markets. In these endeavours, we have been extensively supported by the European Investment Bank that has been cooperating with HBOR for 15 years now”, said Tomašević.

This operation consolidates the strong and effective partnership between the EIB and HBOR. The EIB has already granted credits to HBOR for more than EUR 2 billion used to support SMEs projects, Mid-Cap companies and public entities in the areas of industry and services, including tourism, and small and medium-scale infrastructure schemes promoted by local authorities.