The 2011 Annual Report of the Western Balkans Investment Framework* (WBIF) highlights the growing number of regional investment projects under development in the Western Balkans and indicates the level of investment needs in the region – the WBIF project pipeline alone currently comprises a potential total of €10 billion worth of investments. Gather momentum WBIF has continued to gather momentum in its second year of ....
How can we make sure loans provided through partner banks reach small businesses? How do we effectively meet their needs? How to ensure a sufficient level of transparency and control without imposing an overburdening level of bureaucracy? These were among the questions discussed bringing together the views from evaluators and policy makers experts from leading international financial institutions meeting on 29 March at the EIB. ....
The international credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) on Tuesday affirmed Croatia's long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings at 'BBB-/A-3', with the outlook remaining negative. In the opinion of S&P analysts, "competitiveness challenges constrain Croatia's economic growth potential. These stem in part from a rigid labor market and a large public sector, which both contribute to persistent current account deficits." ....
As cash-strapped Greece is selling many of its state assets, three Russian companies including Gazprom are bidding to acquire the Greek gas companies DEPA and DESFA, out of a total of 17 bidders from 12 countries. Gazprom If Gazprom is prevented from acquiring Greece's gas assets, two other Russian companies will also be in the race to help it get the deal, the Russian daily ....
The European Investment Bank signed today in Athens the Funding Agreement for the creation of a dedicated guarantee fund supporting lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Greece. The Fund is a joint initiative between the Hellenic Republic, the European Commission and the EIB. Established by using EUR 500 million from unabsorbed Structural Funds for Greece, the Fund will guarantee EIB loans to SMEs ....
The financial crisis of 2008-09 has put international banking to the test. Subsidiaries of international banks, now troubled in their home countries, reduced their lending earlier and faster during the crisis when compared with domestic banks (De Haas and Van Lelyveld, 2011). Yet, in countries where foreign banks had a leading position they often continued to be stable credit sources (Claessens and Van Horen (2012). ....
Stability of the financial sector and ensuring orderly credit conditions in emerging Europe are in the shared interest of the private sector and home and host countries. To this effect, principles to avoid disorderly deleveraging in emerging Europe were agreed by officials and private sector banks at a meeting in Brussels (Annex). The agreement aims to better coordinate banking sector regulation and supervision and to ....
The EBRD is continuing to promote sustainable energy solutions in the agribusiness sector with a €10 million loan to Serbia’s Victoria Group, a leading agribusiness company in the country, to install two biomass-fired boilers at its oilseed crushing subsidiaries. The use of agricultural waste and by-products to generate heat and electricity can deliver long-term sustainable benefits to the company and environment alike. The new biomass ....
