The EBRD and Société Générale Srbija (SGS) are joining efforts to boost the flow of credit to the country’s real economy sector with a €160 million financing package for on-lending to Serbian businesses and individual consumers.
Wholly owned by the French Société Générale banking group, Société Générale Srbija is the sixth-largest bank in Serbia, providing a wide range of corporate and retail banking services, with particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The financing package includes a €150 million loan designed to support Société Générale Srbija’s growth strategy in the next three years. The proceeds of this loan, structured in three tranches, will be used for on-lending to Serbian companies, individuals and possibly municipalities. The loan will provide funding to support Société Générale Srbija’s strategic objectives to increase lending to SMEs, further expand its retail banking services and branch network, as well as help increase local currency lending.
A further €10 million SME Competitiveness Credit Line is being extended to Société Générale Srbija under the Bank’s Private Sector Support Facility Framework for Western Balkans (WBPSSF).
The proceeds of the SME Competitiveness Credit Line will be used to support local companies with investments aimed at improving product quality, environmental and health and safety standards, thus helping Serbian SMEs to align with EU standards.
“The EBRD is very pleased to continue its long-standing successful cooperation with Société Générale Srbija with the aim of supporting the free flow of credit in the Serbian economy during the current challenging period. This new project will also support Société Générale Srbija in diversifying its funding base and help the bank’s growth strategy in the mid to long term,” said Nick Tesseyman, Managing Director EBRD.
“The signing of these loan agreements of €160 million with the EBRD is a good illustration of Société Générale’s development in Serbia. It will strengthen our position as one of the leading banks and increase our capacity to support our customers in their projects, so as to contribute to a sustainable growth of the Serbian economy during the years to come,” underlined Antoine Toussaint, CEO at Société Générale Srbija.
Since the beginning of its operations in Serbia, the EBRD has committed around €2.8 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with a total value of some €6 billion.
Source EBRD
