The FINANCIAL — A loan of up to €20 million by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Banca Intesa Beograd will help businesses and municipalities in Serbia to cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The EBRD funds will address the liquidity needs of corporates, small businesses and municipalities that are experiencing a decrease in their activities and turnover due to the spread of the virus.
Zsuzsanna Hargitai, EBRD Regional Director Western Balkans and Head of Serbia, said: “The EBRD continues to scale up financing local business through its excellent partner banks to sustain business operations and jobs. With the new financing for Banca Intesa our funds for the real economy in Serbia provided via lenders are nearing €400 million this year alone.”
Draginja Đurić, CEO of Banca Intesa Beograd, added: “This new credit line of €20 million continues our cooperation with the EBRD, our long-term partner, to provide support to the real economy in Serbia. We are very pleased to be able to assist companies with funds to better overcome the negative consequences of the coronavirus on their business and thus contribute to the economic recovery of the economy. As a reliable partner, Banca Intesa has so far made over €288 million available to citizens and businesses in Serbia through credit line agreements together with the EBRD.”
Banca Intesa Beograd is the largest bank in Serbia with a leading position in corporate and retail banking and a market share of 16 per cent by total assets as of the end of 2019. It has approximately 3,000 employees and a branch network of 154 offices across Serbia.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Serbia. The Bank has invested more than €6.3 billion across 277 projects in the country to date. The EBRD is focusing on support for private-sector development, improvement of public utility services and on the overall transition towards a green economy.
