Raiffeisen Leasing d.o.o. (RLRS)

MIGA has issued a guarantee of up to $40.1 million covering Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich AG”s (RZB) €30 million shareholder loan  to its subsidiary, Raiffeisen Leasing d.o.o. (RLRS) in Serbia. The coverage is for  a period of up to six years against the risks of transfer restriction and expropriation of funds. ^[1]

The Serbian financial sector is currently feeling the effects of the financial crisis experiencing a flattening of customer demand. At the same time leasing products as a financing vehicle for SMEs are vital  and therefore RZB plans to extend this €30 million loan to allow RLRS to continue to serve its existing clients, as well as generate new business. This would be MIGA’s fifth guarantee in support of this project.

This project is expected to contribute to the development of the financial sector in Serbia by improving access to finance, particularly to segments of the economy that are currently underserved. The project will meet the increasing demand for leasing as a form of asset financing.

One of the main objectives of the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy for Serbia for 2008-2011, which is broadly structured around the Serbian government’s development strategy, is encouraging dynamic private sector-led growth.  The project is consistent with this objective, as the project will support investment flows into Serbia at a time when investor appetite has largely disappeared due to the ongoing global financial crisis.

^[1] The guarantee was expired on October 31, 2014.