"The project will contribute to ensure resilience and preserve competition in Serbiaʼs financial sector. The facility will help BIB to maintain the full level of its operations, remain an effective market player during the COVID-19 pandemic (resilient) and will enable BIB to continue commercial lending in line with comparable banking sector participants (competitive)," the EBRD said in a statement.
The financing will also allow Banca Intesa Belgrade to continue lending to eligible SMEs in Serbia, it added.