Pekao Leasing in Poland has signed a EUR 200 million loan agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank. The acquired funds will be used to finance – in the form of leasing on the competitive terms – the investments and the development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland. The agreement was secured with a guarantee granted by Pekao Bank.
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has for many years been facilitating access to financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the member states of the Council of Europe. The institution currently has 42 member states. Poland joined the CEB in 1998 and is currently in the group of 22 countries in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe that are beneficiaries of the increased scale of the CEB investments.
The current agreement is the sixth one signed by the CEB with the Pekao Group and the fifth one with Pekao Leasing. The total amount of the concluded loan agreements is EUR 700 million.
“The Pekao Group consistently supports Polish entrepreneurs. Providing micro, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs with access to a preferential source of financing is of key importance for their development and competitiveness, especially in the difficult market environment that companies in Poland and Europe are currently struggling with,” – said Magdalena Zmitrowicz, Vice President of Pekao Bank, responsible for the Division Business Banking and Member of the Supervisory Board of Pekao Leasing.
The signed loan agreement will co-finance eligible investments undertaken by Polish micro, small and medium-sized enterprises through Pekao Leasing, such as the purchase of fixed assets and the production equipment necessary for their core business. Particular emphasis is placed on the pro-ecological investments.
Funding with the support of the CEB aims to contribute to creating and preserving permanent and seasonal jobs. It will help small and medium-sized enterprises to undertake new investments, increase the scale of operations and maintain their competitiveness. In addition, it promotes female entrepreneurship by allocating a large portion of its funding to female-led businesses.
“The cooperation between the Pekao Group and the CEB has been going on since 2015. The new agreement is another proof of the mutual trust of both institutions. In line with the CEB’s mandate and the terms of the agreement, a significant part of the funding will support female-owned and female-led enterprises. The financed investments will also meet the goal of improving energy efficiency,” – said Jerzy Kwieciński, Vice President of Pekao Bank, responsible for the Corporate Banking Division.
The Polish startups should also take advantage of the loan. It is expected that the largest share of beneficiaries will be micro and small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees and up to EUR 10 million in turnover or the total assets.
“Pekao Leasing has a very good experience in cooperation with international financial institutions. This is our fifth financing agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank. We focus on financing investments in the micro and SME segments, especially in the area of machinery and equipment. Observing the increase in industrial production, and in financing provided to Pekao Leasing customers in recent quarters, we are convinced that the funds from the CEB, supporting Polish entrepreneurs, indicate a good direction of development and support the investments to create and preserve jobs, and reduce the emissions and the energy consumption of production,” – emphasized Krzysztof Zgorzelski, President of the Management Board of Pekao Leasing.
“We are very pleased that we can support small and medium-sized enterprises with this loan and promote entrepreneurship in Poland,” – said Carlo Monticelli, CEB Governor. “Given the size of the Polish SME sector, we expect our financial assistance to contribute to strengthening the resilience of the country’s economy as well as overall growth and prosperity”.
Considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine on the operations of Polish companies, for many of them, leasing may be a convenient form of long-term investment financing. The agreement that has just been signed is to help companies to obtain it effectively.
Source: The press release by Pekao Bank dated June 23, 2022
