site.btaFund of Funds Signs Agreements with Partner Banks to Provide Additional Resources under Recovery Programme

The Fund of Funds signed agreements to provide additional resources to the guarantee limit of the Fund's partner banks under the Fund's Recovery Programme, the Fund said in a press release here on Thursday. The Recovery Programme is a portfolio guarantee that allows the country's banks to ensure acceleration of new loans to support the country's businesses.

The agreements are with Tokuda Bank, Bulgarian-American Credit Bank, Raiffeisenbank, Postbank, UBB, DSK Bank, Unicredit Bulbank and First Investment Bank, which have been implementing the instruments under the Recovery Programme so far. The funds are provided under the "Operational Programme Innovation and Competitiveness" 2014-2020, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, including the REACT-EU instrument.

The main argument for the decision to accelerate loans is the continuing need to significantly improve access to finance for Bulgarian micro, small and medium enterprises.

Businesses in the country will be able to benefit from nearly BGN 210 million by the end of the year, and for this purpose under the signed agreements the partner banks will receive additional funds (guarantees) in the amount of BGN 84.5 million. The funding is mainly intended to provide liquidity, investment, and growth.

Among the advantages of the loans granted under the programme are the lack of requirement for material collateral, shortened terms for approval and disbursement of funds, the possibility of a 12-month grace period on the principal sum, as well as an option for long-term lending up to 84 months, the Fund also said.

The credit for a single enterprise may be up to BGN 3 million, but not more than 70% of the enterprise's revenue for 2019 or 2020 (whichever is higher) and subject to minimum/state aid provisions. The deadline for Bulgarian companies to receive credits under the product is December 31, 2023.