GGF provides EUR 20 million senior loan to UniCredit Bank for renewable energy financing in Serbia

The senior loan for financing renewable energy projects represents the beginning of the cooperation between GGF and UniCredit Bank Serbia. The renewable energy projects to be financed by the GGF loan are expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 47,000 tons.

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) and UniCredit Bank Serbia have signed a loan agreement in the amount of EUR 20 million to finance renewable energy projects in Serbia. This agreement represents the beginning of the cooperation between two institutions which, in addition to the financing, involves GGF support through the technical verification and monitoring of projects.

Through long-term financing under very competitive conditions, as institutions stated in the press release issued today,  this GGF loan will enable UniCredit Bank to reconfirm its position as one of the leading actors in renewable energy financing and at the same time enhance improvement of this sector, which is still in its infancy in Serbia.

It will also once again reconfirm the strategy of UniCredit to constantly look for business opportunities arising from environmental challenges and to continue to invest in renewable energy sources.

By the end of 2016, UniCredit Group exposure to the renewable energy sector exceeded EUR 9.4 billion.

GGF Chairman Christopher Knowles said, “This new partnership with UniCredit Bank offers the GGF the chance to help build and strengthen Serbia’s renewable energy sector with long-term, competitive financing, which supports the fund’s overall mission to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in the markets it serves.”

In accordance with signing the agreement, Enrico Verdoscia, member of UniCredit Bank Serbia’s Management Board in charge of Corporate and Investment Banking stated: “We are proud that the GGF recognized us as a partner that is ready to contribute to the further development of the renewable energy sector in Serbia through additional investments in this segment. Our strong experience, and our capability to monitor complex transactions and to adjust financing to specific requirements of our clients will definitely allow us to support both existing and new clients via this loan.”