site.btaBulgarian Development Bank and EC Sign New InvestEU Guarantee Agreement

The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and the European Commission (EC) signed an agreement for a EUR 40 million guarantee under the InvestEU programme on Tuesday. This guarantee complements a previous issuance of EUR 125 million in 2023, aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bulgaria.

The caretaker Minister of Innovation and Growth, Rosen Karadimov, told BTA that the BDB has been a key partner of the European Commission for several years under the InvestEU. In his words, the programme is a huge recognition for BDB, because it has been entrusted with the management of guaranteed schemes for EUR 160 million. 

Under this guarantee, the BDB can provide resources amounting to BGN 2.5 billion for small and medium-sized enterprises through commercial banks, the Minister said. The companies will benefit from the commercial banks' loans and the BDB will guarantee financing to the commercial banks, Karadimov added. In his words, the limit of the amounts that companies can apply for and the type of companies that can receive European support, are yet to be specified.

The Bank will finance projects in sustainable energy, digital connectivity, transport, circular economy, research, innovation and digitalization. The BDB guarantee will provide the opportunity for businesses to obtain resources with lower collateral requirements and better pricing terms, the Minister said.

The attendees of the signing ceremony included EU Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni, Caretaker Finance Minister Lyudmila Petkova and of Innovation and Growth Rosen Karadimov, BDB Executive Director Iliya Karanikolov,  the Acting Chair of the Supervisory Board of BDB, Delyana Ivanova, and BDB board member Theodora Pesheva.

BDB and EC signed the first guarantee agreement worth  EUR 125 million on November 14, 2023. This agreement is expected to channel over BGN 2.5 billion from commercial banks towards sustainable investments by SMEs and households.