Ukraine: European Investment Bank to provide €20 million loan to enhance access to local currency funding for SMEs 
March 8, 2021

Ukraine: European Investment Bank to provide €20 million loan to enhance access to local currency funding for SMEs 


The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with the State Export-Import Bank of Ukraine (Ukreximbank) to increase the funding limit of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) Support Facility project to €280 million. Additional financing, namely a €20 million loan, will be provided via a parallel cross-currency swap in Ukrainian hryvnia (UAH) and will be on-lent to local private businesses with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The operation has been made possible by the EIB’s membership of the Currency Exchange Fund (TCX), which provides long-term local currency and interest rate derivatives in emerging market currencies to its investors and their clients.

“I am pleased to see that the EIB is providing a support package for SMEs and mid-caps in Ukraine as part of the European Union’s overall Team Europe relief effort,” said  Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Frederik Coene. This assistance comes at a time when SMEs need strong support to overcome the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Ukreximbank has a clear goal to direct additional financing to meet the specific and urgent needs of Ukrainian companies. It is very encouraging to see clients develop their businesses, start new areas of activity, modernise production, implement energy-efficient projects or enter new markets alongside the bank, said Ievgen Metsger, Chairman of the Management Board of Ukreximbank, one of the major operators in the Ukrainian banking market, which serves a considerable part of Ukrainian enterprises’ export and import activities.

The EIB, the EU long-term lending institution, has worked with Ukraine since 2007. Ukraine has been the main recipient country of EIB support in the Eastern Neighbourhood, accounting for more than 60% of EIB lending activity in this region. As one of the key international financial institutions in Ukraine, the EIB focuses on social and economic infrastructure, transport and connectivity, local private sector development, energy efficiency, climate action, and innovation. 

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