Rosa Sánchez-Yebra, Vice-Governor for Social Development Strategy of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB),Tamás Bernáth, Chairman-CEO of the Hungarian Development Bank (MFB), and Ms. Réka Martini, Managing Director of MFB, signed the Disbursement Request for the first disbursement under the Framework Loan Agreement of 17 May 2018 dedicated to sustainable and inclusive growth projects in Hungary.
The CEB financing will be channeled to MSMEs across the country, particularly, businesses in Central Hungary and remote areas such as the Great Plain region, which often have difficulty accessing financing from commercial banks. The aim is to stimulate innovation and development in small businesses and increase their competitiveness in order to contribute to job creation and preservation. The CEB will also partially finance the MFB’s “Solar Panel Farm Financing Programme”, which will be of particular benefit to farms and agricultural companies.
In addition, CEB funds will be used to finance infrastructure development at the local level through the MFB’s “Municipal Infrastructure Development Programme 2020” and “Public Transportation Development Programme”, and will also finance the Student Loan Centre, which provides student loans in higher education to help with living expenses and study costs.
The agreement was signed during a ceremony at MFB, where Vice-Governor Sánchez-Yebra stressed the importance of this project and said: “MFB is a long-standing partner of the CEB. We are pleased that through this cross-sectoral loan we will be able to support crucial areas of the Hungarian economy such as MSME financing, public infrastructure development, and education, with clear benefits in terms of job creation, improved living conditions in urban and rural areas, a greener economy, and easier access to higher education. We are confident that this first disbursement will support the Hungarian Student Loan Centre in providing students in Hungary with additional loans at favorable conditions, facilitating their access to higher education.”
Original source: CEB
Published on 13 June 2018
