22.11.2023 Loans for BGN 3.3 billion were granted to 12,000 Bulgarian companies with the support of the National Guarantee Fund

The National Guarantee Fund (NGF), part of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) Group, has supported 12,000 Bulgarian companies and the issued guarantees are worth BGN 1.2 billion. These are the results of the Fund, which marks its 15th anniversary.

One in five companies in the country has received funding from commercial banks thanks to the NGF. The Fund's overarching objective is to support lending to small and medium-sized businesses by commercial banks through credit risk sharing. The guarantees complement the collateral and help make the terms of the loans easier.

Since its inception, the National Guarantee Fund has developed nine guarantee schemes implemented in partnership with 21 commercial banks. Through them, it has provided over 3.3 billion levs of guaranteed loans for businesses, multiplying the public resource 40 times. This is also the mission of the Fund - as part of the BDB Group, it is an instrument for the implementation of state economic policies, and its activities are subordinated to the strategy for creating a sustainable market for financial services and products for micro-, small, and medium businesses. Through its activities, it has also helped create nearly 20,000 new jobs.

The distribution of the granted loans follows the economic activity by sectors - the main share of the supported enterprises is in the trade, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors - nearly 65%, followed by transport - 12%, and construction - 7%.