The European Investment Bank (EIB) has advanced a new €100 million loan to Pekao Leasing for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Further to the EIB mandate and the loan agreement, a considerable part of the funds will be used for financing energy efficiency measures and developing sustainable energy initiatives as well as preparing a competitive leasing offer for enterprises owned or managed by women.
The loan to Pekao Leasing, the leasing arm of Bank Pekao Group, is a continuation of the cooperation started in 2005. The loan is secured by a bank guarantee from Bank Pekao.
The beneficiaries can use the loan to finance durable asset investments and tangible assets, for instance R&D expenses. The overall investment cost should not exceed €25 million and EIB support can extend to €12.5 million.
“Pekao Group substantially supports the development of the Polish economy. The new agreement with the EIB will allow us to significantly support enterprises owned or managed by women. Moreover, part of the new EIB loan will be used to finance sustainable energy and energy efficiency investments. The loan will allow us to offer a competitive range of products and services for SMEs,” says Ms Magdalena Zmitrowicz, Bank Pekao vice-president responsible for SMEs.
The EIB was founded in 1958 and is the financial arm of the European Union. It is world’s largest multilateral bank and plays a leading role in financing climate action initiatives. The EIB’s other key areas of activity are the promotion of SME development, the creation of new jobs and the fostering of women entrepreneurship.
“Financing small and medium-sized enterprises is one of the core activities of the EIB. We do it through partner banks and institutions, such as Pekao Group, with whom we have been cooperating for 15 years. In this transaction, we are particularly glad that our funds will support companies investing in energy-saving solutions and companies managed or owned by women. SMEs can be a key player of the green transformation with women owners and managers playing a greater role in the economy. The EIB is proud to support these dynamics,” says Prof. Teresa Czerwińska, vice-president of the EIB.
Bank Pekao S.A., founded in 1929, is one of the largest financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the top three universal banks in Poland with around PLN 230 billion in assets. Through the country’s second largest branch network, Bank Pekao serves over 5.7 million customers. As the leading corporate bank in Poland, Bank Pekao serves every second large corporation in Poland. Its status of universal bank is underpinned by market-leading private banking, asset management and brokerage operations. Its diversified business profile is supported by a first-rate balance sheet and risk profile, as reflected in its low cost of risk, strong capital ratios and resilience to macroeconomic conditions (ranked among the top three banks in the European Banking Authority’s EU-wide exercise). Since 1998, Bank Pekao has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and has been a member of several local (including the WIG20 and WIG Banks) and international indices (including the MSCI Emerging Markets, Stoxx Europe 600 and FTSE Developed). Pekao is among the top dividend-paying companies listed in Warsaw, with a total shareholder payout of PLN 20 billion in the last 10 years.