BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 2
Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
The EU bank will extend COVID-measures to the existing credit line at Georgian Liberty Bank for a total of 17.5 million euros, including a recent 2.5 million euros multi-currency addition Trend reports via Georgian media.
The loan reinforces Team Europe's support for the recovery of Georgian MSMEs from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as sustaining jobs, maintains liquidity and operations, and fuels the economic recovery of Georgia.
In 2020 alone, European Investment Bank (EIB) provided 70 million euros to support the faster recovery of Georgian businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EIB, the lending arm of the European Union, and Liberty Bank agreed to expand an existing credit line for Georgian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with an additional 2.5 million euros to a total of 17.5 million euros. With this signature, the EIB's total COVID-19 immediate response comprises additional lending exceeding 70 million euros, and existing loans benefiting from COVID-19 measures exceeding 90 million euros.
The EIB loans inject fresh capital into the national financial market at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is burdening SMEs with liquidity issues and restricting their ability to access finance for maintaining daily operations or funding expansion plans.
The loan agreement was signed in presence of Charles Michel, the President of the European Council.
The loan introduces the option to make funding available in synthetic lari, Georgia’s national currency, and increases the affordability of the loans for MSMEs. The expansion will help Georgian MSMEs sustain jobs, maintain liquidity to continue operations, and fuel the economic recovery of Georgia from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The investment from the EU bank forms part of the EIB’s SME Outreach Initiative, which promotes access to finance for MSMEs by supporting smaller local banks to better service their clients.
MSMEs are the backbone of the Georgian economy and major employers in the country. The loan expansion comes with a 450,000 euros in technical assistance to support Liberty Bank improve and expand its offer for MSMEs.
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