Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vjekoslav Bevanda signed today with the Head of the World Bank Office in BiH Emanuel Salinas a loan agreement worth EUR 56 million within the Recovery Support Project for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (“MSMEs”) to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bevanda stressed that the signing of this loan agreement will enable the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to allocate funds to development banks in both entities to finance the eligible companies.
“The funds have been allocated in the ratio of 60 percent for the Federation of BiH, 33.6 million euros, and 40 percent for the entity of Republika Srpska, 22.4 million euros. The terms of the loan are favorable with a repayment period of 15 years including a five-year grace period,” said Bevanda.
According to this agreement, the project implementers in the Federation of BiH are the FBiH Development Bank and the Ministry of Development, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, while in the RS, the project will be implemented by the RS Investment and Development Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Entrepreneurship.
The goal of the project, which closes on December 31, 2024, is to strengthen the public health system and provide social assistance to the most vulnerable groups affected by the pandemic in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a special part of the project, banks are tasked with opening credit lines that will support companies through sub-loans to overcome the business crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bevanda expressed gratitude to the leadership of the World Bank, which has provided support to the economy in BiH, especially in these extraordinary circumstances, and their projects have contributed to a better quality of life in BiH.
The agreement was signed correspondently, without the usual ceremonies, due to epidemiological measures to prevent the spread of the virus, stated the BiH Ministry of Finance and Treasury.
