The FINANCIAL — The European Investment Bank (EIB) is renewing its support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies (mid-caps) with a EUR 150 million loan to Akbank T.A.S.
The EIB is resuming its partnership with Akbank, continuing the successful past cooperation and building on Akbank’s strong position in the SME segment combined with a broad geographical outreach.
The EIB loan will support investments in tangible or intangible assets, as well as working capital. Investments will be made in new projects or the modernisation/expansion of existing businesses, mainly in the fields of manufacturing, services and tourism. As the European Investment Bank reported, the operation will enable Akbank to further improve the conditions offered to the final beneficiaries, especially in terms of the maturity of the loans provided. SMEs can receive loans for projects costing less than EUR 25 million, whereas mid-caps can do so for projects costing up to EUR 50 million.
EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom commented on this occasion at the EIB’s headquarters in Luxembourg: “Support for Turkey’s vibrant small and middle-sized private sector remains a priority for the European Investment Bank. To this end, we are pleased to renew today the successful cooperation with our banking partner Akbank. The expected economic benefits of our support are significant in terms of job maintenance and private sector development in Turkey, as SMEs – numbering 1.9 million companies – are the largest sector of the Turkish economy and constitute the biggest provider of employment”.
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