A new €400 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) was signed by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Christos Staikouras, the Deputy Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Yannis Tsakiris and the EIB Vice-President, Mr. Christian Kettel Thomsen.
Through the new contract, the Hellenic Development Bank -HDB will proceed with the creation of new financing programmes for the support and facilitation of small and medium-sized (SMEs) and larger (MidCaps) enterprises, for a total amount of EUR 2 billion.
The signing ceremony of the agreement took place at the new HDB offices in the presence of the Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Adonis Georgiades, the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Theodoros Skylakakis, the Deputy Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Nikos Papathanasis, the Deputy Minister of Finance responsible for the Financial System, Mr. George Zavvos and the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Yannis Stournaras.
On the side of the European Investment Bank, the Managing Director of the European Investment Fund, Mr. Alain Godard and Mr. John Kaltsas.
Following the signing of the new contract, the Minister of Finance and EIB Governor, Mr. Christos Staikouras said:
“As Minister of Finance and Governor of the European Investment Bank (EIB), I welcome the signing of today’s loan agreement. A loan agreement for a total of €400 million with the EIB, aimed at supporting and providing liquidity to SMEs and larger (MidCaps) enterprises through the financial instruments of the Hellenic Development Bank (Hellenic Development Bank), in order to cope with the effects of the pandemic.
This confirms once again our common goal of ensuring a strong, sustainable and inclusive recovery for Greece and Europe. The EBRD has played an important role in supporting the real economy during this – unprecedented – health crisis, having provided a total of €7.8 billion of liquidity to the affected businesses. Today’s signing coincides with the inauguration of the new offices of EAT, marking a new, continuously dynamic, era for the Hellenic Development Bank“.
For his part, the Minister of Development and Investment, Mr. Adonis Georgiades underlined:
“The Hellenic Development Bank, in the last two years, has cumulatively given more loans than it has given since its establishment as TEMPME in 2003. With the hard work of the Development Bank staff and the help of the European Investment Bank, we managed to provide liquidity necessary for the Greek economy during the difficult years of the pandemic. By restarting our economy, we are taking the first step today by ensuring the necessary resources to provide loans to small and medium-sized enterprises so that by 2022 we will be able to support all these businesses.“.
The Minister of State for Development and Investment, Mr. John Tsakiris stressed:
“Today’s signing of the new contract with the European Investment Bank is another strong vote of confidence in the prospects of the Greek economy and a strong springboard for the dynamic restart of entrepreneurship, especially at a time when all the data point to the end of the pandemic. At the same time, it confirms the already strong links with the European Bank and the European Investment Fund and paves the way for even closer cooperation in the future.
In this effort, the Hellenic Development Bank plays a leading role, as with a series of new financing tools being created, even more SMEs and larger companies will gain access to valuable liquidity in order to cope with the effects of the pandemic and finance their development plans on significantly more favourable terms.”
The President and CEO of the Hellenic Development Bank, Ms Athina Hadjipetrou said:
“This is an important moment for the Greek economy and the Hellenic Development Bank. The European Investment Bank is confident in the outlook and strongly supports the dynamic restart of the economy. The Hellenic Development Bank, by leveraging public resources, will create new financial instruments that will facilitate the access of even more SMEs and larger companies to finance their growth.
The result is that the €400 million of the loan agreement, in harmonious and mutually beneficial cooperation with the banking system, will be multiplied up to three times and will finance the real economy and Greek entrepreneurship. We hope that the success of these projects will lead to even closer cooperation with the European Bank and the European Investment Fund.“.
