16:34 05.09.2017

GUF provides UAH 110 mln to ProCredit Bank for lending to SME

2 min read

KYIV. Sept 5 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The German-Ukrainian Fund (GUF) has provided a UAH 110 million financing to ProCredit Bank (Kyiv) to expand lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).

The agreement between the financial institutions was signed at a joint press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

GUF Executive Director Oleh Strynzha said that the funds are provided under the GUF program on lending to SME. The bank receives funds which would allow it to lend them to SME for the period of up to six years at the credit rates that are lower than the market ones.

"This tool - the SME lending program - provides its participants with funds for a long period of time. It also provides for recurrent - every six months - revision of loan rates: if the rates on the credit market decline, the cost of borrowing for business will automatically decrease," he said.

Strynzha also said that the entire financial resource, attracted to this program (UAH 300 million), is already almost completely distributed among its participants.

"Now we are giving UAH 110 million to ProCredit Bank. The next two loans will be provided to Ukrgasbank and Kredobank. The relevant agreements will be signed in the near future," he said.

ProCredit Bank Board Chairman Viktor Ponomarenko said that access of business to credit funds is currently extremely limited. The bank's partnership with GUF allows changing this situation.

"Business, therefore, gets access to a very high-quality resource: we will be able to offer adequate credit terms and the attractive cost of borrowing," he said.

Ponomarenko also recalled that the cooperation program implies the provision of loans in hryvnias to SME for up to six years at 15% per annum. The largest amount of the loan is limited to the equivalent of EUR 250,000.

"We expect that the funds raised will go to finance production and investment. The priority is lending for energy saving, services and agribusiness," he said.

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