New EBRD partnership for Societe Generale Expressbank

Thanks to a new agreement between the Societe Generale Expressbank (SGEB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Bulgarian companies will now have improved access to finance in order to boost the competition within certain markets. Currently, two-thirds of all lending from SGEB goes towards local companies and EBRD is no stranger to the company as they have provided support in the past. However, this deal is slightly different in that it is a ‘RSF’ risk participation agreement; the first for Bulgaria and the first for EU member state lenders.

In over 230 projects, the EBRD has invested significant sums of money in Bulgaria to date. Thought to be worth a little under €3.5 billion, 80% of this amount has gone towards the private sector. In 2016 alone, over €600 million was pumped into the Bulgarian economy by the EBRD. In the future, the EBRD has set a target of €200 million per year to keep up with local demand.