The representatives of the Polish bank of development Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) and KredoBank signed an annex to the agreement, which provides further support for war-torn Ukraine. According to it, KredoBank will receive an additional EUR 10 mln of guarantees from the European Commission for lending to Ukrainian entrepreneurs, primarily those who operate near the territories of active hostilities.
The allocation of additional EUR 10 mln will double to EUR 20 mln the ability of KredoBank to provide loans to firms operating in Ukraine and will allow to continue financing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises – primarly those who work in high-risk areas, that is, in the territories liberated from occupation and in areas near the zone of active hostilities. Due to this support, Ukrainian companies can not only continue their business activities despite the war, but also develop them.
"Reconstruction and economic growth require a strong private sector. The EU is strengthening its partnership with BGK and KredoBank to provide support to Ukrainian enterprises in the most vulnerable regions of the country. We will continue to help Ukrainian entrepreneurs and promote the mobilizing of private capital to support the Ukrainian economy," said EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová.
BGK and Kredobank started cooperation under the European Union guarantees in January 2023. Thanks to it, within the year, KredoBank allocated more than 12 million euros of additional financing, which was provided to almost 100 enterprises, due to which it was possible to save almost 4 thousand of work places. The vast majority of funds – 83% of funding – was submitted to enterprises from the "yellow" and "red" zones, i.e. high-risk areas. Credit support was provided mainly to enterprises operating in the agricultural, industrial and agri-food sectors.
“The war beyond our eastern border cannot become a commonplace for us, and every action that contributes to the improvement of the situation in Ukraine is important. Therefore, as a bank that cares about the stable socio-economic development of Poland, we must look at our activities horizontally. From the very beginning, it was in our European interests to support Ukraine in its struggle. Activities that allow to continue lending to enterprises in the military combat zone, are an expression of the belief that Ukraine will win this war.”, – says Tomasz Robaczyński, Member of the Management Board of BGK (Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego).
The mechanism of support for Ukrainian business under the agreement remains unchanged – under its terms, the amount of the European Commission's guarantee will be deposited in a special account with Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego in Poland and will be used to compensate for losses on non-performing loans. The guarantee will cover 90% of the loan amount.
“ KredoBank was one of the first banks to receive guarantee support from international financial institutions after the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine. Due to this assistance, we have resumed our lending activities and started financing Ukrainian business. In 2023, within the framework of the program from the European Commission with the participation of BGK, we managed to provide loans for SME clients operating near the zone of active hostilities, which amounted to more than 80% of the total amount of the loan guarantee for EUR 10 million and made it possible to provide more than 3.5 thousand jobs in these regions, more than 60% of which are in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and construction. This form of assistance is especially valuable for our clients who continue their activities during the war”, – says Jerzy Jacek Szugajew, the Chairman of the Management Board of KREDOBANK JSC.
The agreement between the European Commission, KredoBank and the state-owned Polish bank of development Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, was signed on January 26, 2023 in Warsaw. According to it, KredoBank was provided with a guarantee in the amount of EUR 10 mln to ensure lending to Ukrainian businesses during martial law in Ukraine. A loan guarantee in the amount of 10 million euros was provided from the European Commission as a part of "blending" – a mechanism for combining reverse financing instruments with subsidized instruments. Consequently, KredoBank became the first Ukrainian commercial bank to attract direct loan guarantees from the European Commission and, вгу to it, was able to lend to enterprises from the zones of active hostilities.
