PrivatBank and the European Investment Bank have signed a multi-year agreement that opens access for small and medium-sized businesses to a financing portfolio of up to 100 million euros.
According to PrivatBank:
"State-owned PrivatBank has signed its first-ever agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) under the EU4Business Guarantee Facility Ukraine program."
This provides access to a financing portfolio of up to 100 million euros for small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine, backed by a first-loss guarantee of 40 million euros, PrivatBank notes.
"The PrivatBank agreement with the EIB Group provides a portfolio guarantee covering 30–80% of the amount of individual loans. This will reduce the bank’s risk exposure and make lending to entrepreneurs even more accessible," the statement reads.
The total term of the agreement will last until June 19, 2040, making the instrument a long-term element of Ukraine’s business support financial architecture.
The program is part of broader EU support for Ukraine. Given that PrivatBank serves about 60% of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the new guarantee mechanism could have a systemic impact on the SME lending market.
PrivatBank also reports that since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has secured guarantees from international partners, which together created opportunities to finance Ukrainian businesses for almost 1.5 billion euros.
