7 July 2021
Press Releases
EBRD presented Erste bank Croatia with the award for the most active partner bank in financing international trade in Croatia for the fourth consecutive year under its 2020 Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), in which awards are presented to the most successful partner banks. Erste bank Croatia and EBRD’s cooperation on the TFP dates back to 2015 and is aimed at promoting international business and supporting importers and exporters.
Through EBRD's TPF programme, EBC offers its clients improved financing conditions that help companies break through to new markets. The programme allows Erste to support companies in boosting and expanding their business to help ensure their business continuity by financing that export, import and local distribution operations. A number of transactions have been supported so far, resulting in intensive use of the programme’s limit of EUR 20 million, and the award for the most active EBRD partner bank in financing international trade in Croatia.
“In 2020, an extremely challenging year for exporters, Erste banka provided continuous support to companies forced to adapt to the changes caused by the COVID-19 crisis in order to remain operational, preserve jobs, and be able to offer their products and services in foreign markets. IWe have cooperated with EBRD for ten years, over which period we together realised a total of five credit lines, worth EUR 190 million, designed to finance micro, small and medium-sized companies, and the public and private sector”, said Sanja Gracin, Head of Trade Finance Group at Erste Bank.
EBRD's TPF programme, launched in 1999, is aimed at promoting international trade from and among countries EBRD invests in. Through the programme, EBRD gives guarantees to international banks and short-term credit lines to selected banks and factoring companies to mediate in granting funds to domestic exporters, importers and distributers. At the moment, more than 100 partner banks from 26 countries are participating in the programme, with approved limits upwards of EUR 1.5 billion, and more than 800 confirming banks across the world.