CROATIA - Continued partnership between HBOR and the CEB

ZAGREB - Hrvatska banka za obnovu i razvitak (HBOR), represented by Mr Anton Kovačev, President of the Managing Board, and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), represented by Mr Rolf Wenzel, Governor, today signed a loan agreement worth € 90 million.

The CEB will provide HBOR with financial support to be channelled in the form of loans to Croatian local and regional authorities and other related public sector entities, as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) throughout the country.

The provision of long-term resources to local authorities should boost their capacity to undertake priority public investment projects aimed at improving living conditions in urban and rural areas. The CEB resources allocated to MSMEs will be used for productive investment projects, thereby fostering their competitive position and reinforcing their ability to create and maintain jobs.

This new agreement between HBOR and the CEB follows in the footsteps of four successfully completed operations in favour of SMEs and/or public authorities.

---

HBOR was established in June 1992 by the Act on the Croatian Credit Bank for Reconstruction. In December 1995, the Bank was renamed Hrvatska banka za obnovu i razvitak (Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development). In December 2006, the new Act on the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development was passed. Within the Croatian banking system, HBOR plays the role of a development and export bank established with the objective of financing the reconstruction and development of the Croatian economy. HBOR was founded and is entirely owned by the Republic of Croatia.