Press Release

Fund supports private sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina

82/2005 August 10, 2005, Vienna, Austria
Press inquiries:

An agreement for a €10 million line of credit was signed today between the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Raiffeisen Bank d.d. of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RBBH).

The credit will be used by RBBH for on-lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where there is currently a shortage of term financing for the private sector.

With the new financing, RBBH will provide loans in both domestic and foreign currencies, up to a maximum value of €250,000, to SMEs in all sectors. Eligible recipients will be locally based private companies with a demonstrated capacity to expand and generate more jobs.

A subsidiary of the Raiffeisen International Bank, RBBH was founded in 1992 and has grown to have the largest branch network in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through its numerous initiatives, it has significantly shaped the development of the country’s banking and financial sectors as well as the regulatory framework for conducting banking activities.

The line of credit represents the Fund’s second private sector investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Fund has also provided support to the country’s public sector, in the form of loans for projects in the education, transportation, agriculture and infrastructure sectors. In addition, the country has received substantial emergency assistance from the Fund.

In December 2003, an agreement for the encouragement and protection of investment was signed between the Fund and the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Today’s agreement was signed on behalf of RBBH by Dr. Herbert Stepic, Chief Executive Officer of Raiffeisen International, and by HE Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund.