OREANDA-NEWS. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a credit line of EUR 30 million to V?B Leasing to finance projects implemented by SMEs and Mid-Caps. The loan is being provided on favourable terms ensuring that clients can invest in regional development, SME and Mid-Cap development and potential expansion, environmental projects and the advancement of the knowledge-based economy.

The projects to be financed will be carried out by SMEs employing a maximum of 250 employees and Mid-Cap companies with up to 3000 employees, as well as other business entities in both the public and private sectors. The financing can be set up as a financial or operating lease as well as a loan. All loan applicants will have to meet all the requirements set by the EIB in order to be successfully approved.

This loan is in line with the EIB’s priority of improving the access of Europe’s SMEs and Mid-Caps to affordable financing for their activities, as this sector represents the engine of the Slovak economy in terms of economic growth and the creation of new working opportunities.

To this end, the EIB is joining forces with well-established financing institutions – like V?B Leasing – that know the local market and have SMEs and Mid-Caps as their customers. V?B Leasing expects high demand for this line of credit since applicants with their own disposable resources will definitely appreciate the more favourable interest rate, simplified loan origination and issuance procedure and option to combine the EIB finance with finance provided by V?B Leasing and further financial sources.

This project builds on the successful cooperation between the EIB and V?B Leasing. The current operation is the second direct credit line between the two institutions, which have already established a long-term relationship through the parent company of V?B Leasing, V?eobecn? ?verov? banka. A previous loan totalling EUR 50 million has been successfully allocated to support undertakings in Slovakia’s SME and Mid-Cap sector.