The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lent €85mn to Société Générale’s Bulgarian subsidiaries.

The first portion is worth €75mn and has three tranches. It will be disbursed to Société Générale Expressbank for on-lending to SMEs. Each of the three tranches has a three-year tenor.

The second portion is a €10mn loan to Sogelease Bulgaria EOOD, a subsidiary of Société Générale Expressbank. This is also to provide medium to long-term funding to Bulgarian SMEs, but specifically those that make agricultural and medical equipment, light commercial vehicles, trucks and trailers.

“The loans to Société Générale Expressbank and to Sogelease Bulgaria demonstrate our commitment to the Bulgarian financial sector and our support to the manufacturing sector’s access to finance. The country and the region continue to face a challenging economic environment and the EBRD is eager to support all efforts to speed up economic recovery,” says Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, the EBRD’s managing director for central and south eastern Europe.