EIB wades in to finance French and Hungarian SMEs

Date: 10/07/03

THE Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending l50 million and €40m, respectively, to banks in France and Hungary. The cash will primarily help finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The first loan is specifically designed to promote the funding of SMEs. It aims to help banks build on partnerships forged with 400 banking institutions in France and follows up on a similar operation launched in November 2001 providing the same amount of funding.

This first EIB credit line led to the financing of schemes, the majority of which were mounted by SMEs with fewer than 49 employees and primarily located (60%) in the least privileged regions of France.

The second loan, to Hungary, is a €40 million global loan that will serve to finance small- and medium-scale projects in the field of energy and energy savings, environmental protection, infrastructure (including health, education, urban renewal and social housing), industry, services and tourism in Hungary.

The final beneficiaries will typically be SMEs and private or public promoters, according to the EIB.

This is the first loan to the Volksbank Hungary, part of the Österreichische Volksbanken Group, a key financial player in central and eastern Europe.