The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently issued two loans to Sparkasse Bank Makedonija, a unit of Austrian savings bank Steiermärkische Sparkasse, to promote investment in privately owned buildings in North Macedonia. The larger loan is in the amount of EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) and is to be used for mortgage lending for homeowners. A second loan of EUR 2 million (USD 2.2 million) is for funding “high-performance green technologies in privately owned buildings, including residential dwellings, in North Macedonia.” This loan, which is intended to reduce air pollution and increase energy efficiency, is funded by EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF).
With a volume of EUR 4 billion (USD 4.5 billion), GEFF has served 130,000 end-clients via 140 financial institutions in 30 countries. Its funders include the Clean Technology Fund and the International Climate Initiative.
Sparkasse Bank Makedonija serves 60,000 clients with assets of EUR 346 million (USD 386 million) as of 2018. Its profit for the year was MKD 155 million (USD 2.8 million). Steiermärkische, which operates in six Balkan countries in addition to Austria, has 2.4 million clients, 490 branches and 6,200 employees. For 2018, the group reports operating earnings of EUR 213 million (USD 238 million) on total assets of EUR 15.8 billion (USD 17.6 billion). Austria’s Erste Bank Group holds a 25-percent stake in Steiermärkische.
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 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. With a focus on “the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative,” the bank plans to disburse about EUR 8 billion (USD 8.6 billion) during 2020 to grow its portfolio to about EUR 48.5 billion (USD 52.4 billion). EBRD’s shareholders comprise 69 countries plus the EU.
By Will Boudreau and Kiersten Greene, Research Associates
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-to-boost-green-buildings-and-mortgage-finance-in-north-macedonia.html
Sparkasse Bank Makedonija homepage
https://www.sparkasse.mk
Sparkasse Bank Makedonija ownership information
https://www.sparkasse.mk/Footer/About_us/Our_owner.aspx
Sparkasse Bank Makedonija annual report
https://www.sparkasse.mk/CMS/Upload/Dokumenti/%D0%A4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%20%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%88%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B8/web_SPARKASSE_GODISHEN%20IZVESTAJ%202018%20ENG_opt.pdf
Steiermärkische Sparkasse financial information
https://www.sparkasse.at/steiermaerkische-en/about-us/annual-reports
EBRD 2018 annual report
https://www.ebrd.com/news/publications/financial-report/financial-report-2018.html
Green Economy Financing Facility homepage
https://ebrdgeff.com/
Did you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at http://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Uzpromstroybank (UzPSB) Borrowing $15m from EBRD for SMEs in Uzbekistan
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans KICB $7m for MSME Financing in Kyrgyzstan
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $4.4m to KEP Trust of Kosovo with Focus on Rural, Women-led MSMEs
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Offering AgriAcademy Graduate-level Education Courses in Ukraine to Boost Agriculture Sector
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loaning $5m to ING Finansal Kiralama for Leasing for Energy Efficiency, Renewables in Turkiye
