MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Extends $6m Credit Line to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo to Promote MSMEs

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently announced it will extend up to EUR 5 million (USD 6 million) in credit to Raiffeisen Leasing Kosovo (RLKO), which is controlled by Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), in order to grow its services to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in Kosovo. RLKO, which was established in 2008 and is based in the city of Pristina, provides financing for equipment, machinery, real estate and vehicles. The company is fully owned by Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo, a subsidiary of RBI.

Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo was created in 2002 when RBI bought a majority shareholding in the American Bank of Kosovo. As of 2016, Raiffeisen Bank Kosovo has total assets of EUR 887 million (USD 1 billion), customer deposits of EUR 733 million (USD 882 million) and EUR 515 million (USD 663 million) in loans outstanding.
RBI is a commercial and investment bank headquartered in Vienna. The bank serves 16.5 million customers from 2,400 branches, the majority of which are located in Central and Eastern Europe. As of 2016, RBI has total assets of EUR 122 billion (USD 147 billion), a gross loan portfolio of EUR 80 billion (USD 97 billion) and total deposits of EUR 71.5 billion (USD 86 billion).

EBRD was founded in 1991 and has 65 shareholding countries as of 2017. With a focus on “the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative” in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Northern Africa and the Middle East, it invested EUR 9.4 billion (USD 10.1 billion) in companies in 30 countries during 2016.

By Ryan Gauthier, Research Associate