News
CEB approves €232.5 million in four new loans
18 November 2022
Paris – The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) today approved four new loans totalling €232.5 million for social sector investments in a variety of fields.
A significant portion of the total volume of loans approved will support small businesses, while the rest will bolster affordable social housing and vocational training programmes.
“The new loans approved today, although varying in size and scope, target the vulnerable, from low income households in Kosovo to the precarious youth in France and Spain,” said CEB Governor Carlo Monticelli. “One of the loans supports MSMEs, including for green investments, at a time when small businesses face constraints in access to finance, further aggravated by the Covid pandemic and the uncertainties linked to the conflict in Ukraine.”
Bulgaria: A state-guaranteed €175 million loan will bolster Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB)’s mission to improve access to finance for micro-, small- and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The financing is in line with BDB’s strategy aimed to accompany MSME transition to green/renewable energy utilization, boost innovation, technological upgrades and digitalisation. Thanks to the CEB loan, BDB plans to back up over 1 000 enterprises over the next four years.
France: A €13.5 million loan to Fondation Apprentis d’Auteuil will partially finance the renovation of the education Saint-Philippe Campus in Meudon, to upgrade it to modern safety, accessibility, energy efficiency and functionality standards. Created in 1866, the foundation plays a key role in providing social assistance and child protection in France.
Kosovo: A €25 million loan to Kosovo will finance the first phase of a comprehensive “Adequate Social Housing Programme” aiming to establish a long-term sustainable social and affordable housing system in the country and improve living conditions of marginalised and low- to middle-income households. It is estimated that about 2 000 households would benefit from these investments.
Spain: A €19 million loan to Fundació Pere Tarrés will enable the organisation to provide quality education and training for Catalan social workers. The loan will part-finance the construction of a new building in La Marina del Prat Vermell, a disadvantaged area in the city of Barcelona. The new building will regroup different educational activities Fundació Pere Tarrés offers and will house the Foundation’s headquarters as well as some of its new initiatives such as the Observatory for Social Innovation and the Laboratory for Social Action. Through this investment, Fundació Pere Tarrés expects to increase by 30% the number of professionals trained by 2026, admitting about 3 000 additional students, train 200 disadvantaged children and youth per year and disseminate best practices in the social sector field.
Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 42 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AAA with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable, AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook positive and AAA* with Scope Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.
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