MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lends $1.2m to Erste Group’s Sparkasse Leasing Doo Skopje to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in North Macedonia

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently lent Sparkasse Leasing Doo Skopje, a unit of Sparkasse Bank of Macedonia, EUR 1 million (USD 1.2 million) to fund equipment to be leased by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in North Macedonia. The leased equipment is meant to boost the SMEs’ usage of renewable energy and help them meet EU standards for product health, safety and quality. To support the loan, the EU will fund technical assistance and cash incentives to promote the standardization process.

Founded in 1992, Sparkasse Bank of Macedonia is controlled by the Erste Group, a financial services provider based in Vienna, Austria. The bank provides individuals and SMEs with securities brokerage and banking services. During 2019, its return on average assets and return on average equity were 1.2 percent and 10 percent, respectively. As of 2020, its total assets amounted to MKD 26.4 billion (USD 519 million).

Founded in 1819, the Erste Group has roughly 2,100 branches serving 16 million clients in seven Central and Eastern European countries as of 2021. The group offers retail and corporate banking, capital markets, public sector, and interbank services. During the first nine months of 2020, it generated cash return on equity of 4.7 percent, ending the period with total assets of EUR 277 billion (USD 339 billion).

Founded in 1991, EBRD seeks to support a “transition to open, market economies, whilst fostering sustainable and inclusive growth” in 38 countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa. It does this by providing business advice, supporting trade finance, and investing debt and equity in funders of microenterprises and SMEs. With a focus on “the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative,” the bank disbursed approximately EUR 11 billion (USD 13.3 billion) to 411 projects during 2020. EBRD’s shareholders comprise 69 countries plus the EU.

By Teo Lin-Bianco, Research Associate

Source and Additional Resources

EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2021/ebrd-and-eu-step-up-support-for-small-businesses-in-north-macedonia.html

EBRD profile on Sparkasse Leasing Doo Skopje
https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/projects/psd/51503.html

Sparkasse Bank of Macedonia 2019 financial report
https://www.sparkasse.mk/CMS/Upload/Dokumenti/Finansiski_Izveshtai/ENGLISH/Godisen%20finansiski%20izvestaj%202019_ENG.pdf

Erste Group profile
https://www.erstegroup.com/en/about-us

Prior MicroCapital news on EBRD
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-lends-otp-bankserbia-23m-to-boost-sme-funding/

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