Bank Pekao in Poland received a loan guarantee from the Pan-European Guarantee Fund, which enables it to grant loans and refinance them on exceptionally favorable terms. Thanks to this, this year it will provide preferential investment and working capital financing for the amount of almost PLN 5 billion for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Moreover, the new guarantee secures 70% of capital and interest, reduces the loan margin, and does not require the available de minimis aid limit, which in the case of entrepreneurs who used the limit of this aid is a beneficial alternative to other loans guarantees.
Pan-European Guarantee Fund is an initiative launched to reduce the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the European economy. The current guarantee agreement is the largest agreement between Bank Pekao and the European Investment Fund in history and, at the same time, one of the largest direct guarantee agreements in Europe under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund. The signed guarantee agreement allows micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises to take out overdraft facilities, loans, working capital loans (renewable and non-revolving), and investment loans. The maximum value of financing secured by the Pan-European Guarantee Fund guarantee available to a single entrepreneur at Bank Pekao is EUR 2.57 million (approx. PLN 11.7 million), and the maximum loan tenor is 10 years. A novelty in the system of guarantee instruments of the European Investment Fund is the possibility of using the Pan-European Guarantee Fund guarantees also when refinancing loans transferred to Bank Pekao from other banks. This guarantee will enable entrepreneurs to take advantage of more attractive repayment terms for already incurred liabilities, which is an additional advantage of this guarantee.
“The Pan-European Guarantee Fund is another large project under which Bank Pekao cooperates with the EIF to offer Polish entrepreneurs favorable financing conditions. In 2022, we want a new Pan-European Guarantee Fund guarantee to cover a loan portfolio with a value of as much as PLN 4.7 billion, which, according to our estimates, will allow for the granting of preferential financing for approx. entrepreneurs. Thanks to the new guarantee, our customers will be able to take advantage of not only a lower loan margin but also free loan security. The current agreement strengthens the position of Bank Pekao as a leader among commercial institutions in the use of EU financial instruments on the Polish market” – said Magdalena Zmitrowicz, Vice President of the Management Board of Bank Pekao S.A., supervising the Corporate Banking Division.
The guarantee project carried out under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund is not the only form of enterprise financing support recently offered by Bank Pekao. The bank also signed a new portfolio guarantee agreement with the EIF under the so-called EaSI – the European Commission’s Employment and Social Innovation Program. Thanks to the EaSI guarantee, the bank can secure overdrafts and loans for free, and provide preferential financing to micro-enterprises, i.e. companies employing up to 9 people, which, due to the short period of operation or the lack of required collateral, could have difficulties in obtaining financing supporting their development activities.
“The new EaSI guarantee is a continuation of the offer available in Bank Pekao from 2018. Thanks to the guarantee covering up to 90% of the financing granted, we can offer preferential loans for the smallest enterprises with limited possibilities of obtaining financing. For these companies, we have prepared preferential working capital loans and loans secured with the EaSI guarantee up to the amount of PLN 117 thousand. Under the EaSI agreement, we have nearly PLN 250 million at our disposal, which will allow us to obtain funds for development for approx. 5 thousand our customers. The offer will be available until the end of the third quarter of 2023 or until the funds are exhausted” – said Dominika Byrska, Director of the Products and Credit Processes Office at Bank Pekao S.A.
Source: Bank`s press release from February 10, 2022
