OREANDA-NEWS. September 08, 2011. During the first half of 2011 the majority of new loan funds granted by Citadele Bank in Latvia went to companies conducting business in agriculture. Farmers received 36% of the total amount of the new loans issued by Citadele. Another 31% of the new loans were granted to companies working in services sector and 13% were granted to transport companies, reported the press-centre of Citadele.

“Activity of farmers in Latvia can be explained by both – improvement of the economic situation in the State and by implementation of several rural development programs, such as “Modernization of Agricultural Holdings”, says Agnese Paegle, Head of Corporate Banking Sector of Citadele Bank.

To improve business development, Citadele Bank continues exercising active corporate lending this year. In the first half of 2011 Citadele launched new financial instruments – Micro Loan and Funding from the European Investment Bank – for supporting small and medium enterprises.

The new financial instruments enable entrepreneurs to receive loan funds at a fixed long-term interest rate. Besides, Micro Loan is available without real estate collateral. Both types of funding can also be combined with support instruments offered by the EU or the State.

EIB funding is available at a fixed interest rate for a period of up to three years; the maximum lending period for these funds is 10 years. The amount of funding available for one company is from 4 thousand to 12.5 million Euros.

Micro Loan, on its part, is available at a fixed rate for a period of up to 5 years and without real estate collateral. The amount of funds available for one company is from 3 thousand to 30 thousand Lats or an equivalent in Euros or US Dollars.

Citadele’s aim is to invest over 100 million Euros or 70.3 million Lats in Latvia’s entrepreneurship during a year.

In the first half of 2011 more than 100 companies have chosen Citadele as their partner in corporate lending in Latvia. In Estonia Citadele was the choice of more than 300 companies.

According to the data of the Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia for the first half of 2011, Citadele ranks third among the most active lenders in Latvia in terms of new lending in corporate sector; it holds 9.1% of the market.