European Investment Fund (EIF)
Bulgarian Development Bank is the first Financial Intermediary selected by the European Commission and EIF of all candidate member states to the EU accession. In July 2003 BDB received a guarantee line under the Multiannual Program for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. EIF is committed to provide a direct guarantee covering 50% of the sub-portfolio of the Bank with eligible SMEs loans, formed on the basis of the conditions of the agreement, in the amount of EUR 42 million.
In 2015 BDB received a EUR 5 million loan from the EIF under the European Progress Microfinance Facility (Progress Microfinance) of the EU. The purpose of the loan is to increase the access to micro-financing (loans and leasing) and to strengthen the role of the BDB in supporting the micro-business in Bulgaria. Eligible to apply are micro-enterprises with up to 10 employees and self-employed persons wishing to develop a business activity. With the Progress Facility funds BDB created a new on-lending program for financing micro-enterprises, where the co-financing is provided with BDB own resources. Part of the loan was granted to the subsidiary of the Bank – the Microfinance Institution “JOBS” for micro-leasing and micro-loans.
In 2016, Bulgarian Development Bank signed a new counter-guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund under the COSME Program to support the small and medium-sized business in Bulgaria. Its purpose is to facilitate the access to long-term and cheap financing of companies in the country while reducing the requirements towards the collateral under the SMEs loans. COSME Program is implemented with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments, known as the Junker Plan.
Under the terms of the COSME+, BDB will have the possibility to cover up to 60% of the risk under the SME loans, granted by commercial banks-partners. Thus, the requirements for the provision of collateral by the business sector will decrease thereby resulting in increase of risk-bearing capacity of the financing institutions.
