The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently provided two loans to ProCredit Bank Skopje, which operates in North Macedonia and is owned by Germany-based ProCredit Holding. One loan, in the amount of EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million), is for on-lending to the owners of residential buildings to buy “green materials, equipment and technologies” to increase their buildings’ energy efficiency and otherwise boost sustainability. The other loan, in the amount of EUR 2.5 million (USD 3.0 million), is to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic while improving production practices to meet the health, environmental and quality standards of the EU. This second loan is part of a joint project through which EBRD and the EU are providing grants and loans to SMEs in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in an effort to increase their competitiveness.
ProCredit Bank Skopje specializes in serving individuals and SMEs with the aim of promoting job growth and business development in North Macedonia. During 2019, it generated a return on equity of 9.42 percent, ending the year with total assets of EUR 493 million (USD 597 million) and 185,000 clients. Its parent, ProCredit Holding, has banking members in Ecuador and 18 countries in Europe and Central Asia. ProCredit Holding also owns ProCredit Academy and the information technology firm Quipu, with group assets totaling EUR 6.59 billion (USD 7.54 billion) as of March 2020.
Founded in 1991, EBRD seeks to support a “transition to open, market economies, whilst fostering sustainable and inclusive growth” in 38 countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa. It does this by providing business advice, supporting trade finance, and investing debt and equity in funders of SMEs and microenterprises. With a focus on “the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative,” the bank disbursed approximately EUR 11 billion (USD 13.3 billion) to 411 projects during 2020. EBRD’s shareholders comprise 69 countries plus the EU.
By Sai Bommineni, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2021/ebrd-eu-and-donors-support-smes-and-green-homes-in-north-macedonia-.html
ProCredit Bank Skopje homepage
https://www.pcb.mk
ProCredit Bank financial information
https://www.pcb.mk/en/godisni-izvestai
ProCredit Holding homepage
https://procredit-holding.com
EBRD financials for 2020
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2021/ebrd-reports-record-2020-investment-in-response-to-covid19.html
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