Bulgarian Development Bank Executive Director: We Are to Sign Guarantee Agreement for BGN 2.3 Bln Under InvestEU Programme

Yoana Vodenicharova

Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Executive Director and Management Board Chair Iliya Karanikolov, Sofia, Oct. 12, 2023 (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

12.10.2023 21:11

(BTA)

Sofia Thursday hosted the third national Smart Growth conference dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises. The event, under the theme Green, was organized by BGLOBAL magazine.

"In early November, we will sign a guarantee agreement under the InvestEU Programme, where we partner with the European Commission. Under the agreement, we will be able to disburse over BGN 2.3 billion to commercial banks. With this funding, they will be able to support various sectors in the Bulgarian economy, including the green ones, which have have been identified as high value-added sectors by the European Commission for the current programming period," Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Executive Director and Management Board Chair Iliya Karanikolov said.

"Jointly with the European Investment Bank and BDB consultants, we are upgrading our internal capacity to assess green projects so that we can provide direct funding," Karanikolov noted. “As of 2022, green investments account for 13% of the Bank's total portfolio. This means that the Bank is independently moving in this direction with a view to be recognized as a green bank," he added.

/RY/