The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on March 25 it approved two loans for North Macedonia’s Ohridska Banka amounting to a total of €6mn.
The EBRD said it provided a senior unsecured loan of up to €4mn to Ohridska Banka in one single tranche under the Regional SME Competitiveness Support Programme.
The project will support investments in SMEs to upgrade production facilities and comply with EU directives in the field of environmental protection, workers' and product safety and product quality, the lender said.
It also provided a senior unsecured loan of up to €2mn to the bank under the Green Economy Financing Facility - Western Balkans (GEFF-WB).
The second loan supports investments in high-performance energy efficiency technologies, materials and solutions in relation to privately-owned residential dwellings or buildings in North Macedonia.
Ohridska Banka is currently the fifth largest bank in North Macedonia. Previously a subsidiary of Societe Generale, OB was acquired by Steiermarkische Sparkasse in November 2019 and is expected to merge with Sparkasse Bank Macedonija in the summer of 2021. After the merger, the new entity will be the fourth largest bank, with a market share of 12%.
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