Sparkasse Bank Makedonija AD Skopje has secured new funding of € 5 million for household energy efficiency measures from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The EBRD loan is granted under the Western Balkans Green Economy Financing Mechanism (BM GEFF II). Sparkasse Bank Makedonija, which was recently part of the agreement to finance the first private wind farm in North Macedonia, signed a similar agreement with the EBRD in February 2020.

Households in North Macedonia have the opportunity to invest in high-performance green technologies, materials and solutions in private housing and residential buildings, the EBRD said.

EBRD also provides € 20 million unfunded risk sharing facility to Sparkasse Bank

At the end of the projects, borrowers will be eligible for up to 20% cash back, funded by the European Union.

In addition, the EBRD is providing an unfunded risk-sharing facility of € 20 million to Sparkasse Bank, whereby it will guarantee up to 50% of the existing and new exposure of the corporate lender, thereby reducing the weighting. risk and capital requirements on loans. By releasing funds, the facility will increase Sparkasse’s ability to finance other green economy projects, the EBRD said.

This is the first EBRD risk sharing facility in North Macedonia

The Risk Sharing Framework (RSF) is one of the three main funding frameworks of the bank’s Small Business Initiative. It is designed to allow the EBRD to share the exposure of partner banks to local businesses through funded or unfunded risk participation.

Andi Aranitasi, head of the EBRD’s office in Skopje, said that with the signing of this first risk-sharing facility in North Macedonia, the bank hopes to give new impetus to businesses in the country by providing them with better access to funding, helping them recover from the coronavirus pandemic and improve their competitiveness.

Energy efficiency loans combine benefits for households, suppliers, the environment

Green loans for the promotion of energy efficiency combine benefits for households, providers of energy efficient technologies and environmental protection, which is at the center of the social responsibility strategy of the bank, Gligor Bishev, Managing Director of Sparkasse Bank Makedonija.

The GEFF program covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo *, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. It was recently raised to 135 million euros in response to growing demand.

The GEFF program is implemented under the Regional Energy Efficiency Program for the Western Balkans, co-funded by grants from the EU, the Western Balkans Investment Framework and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance.

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