Raiffeisen Bank d.d. Bosnia Herzegovina

MIGA has issued a €9.5 million ($11.1 million) guarantee to Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB) for its €10 million shareholder loan to Raiffeisen Bank d.d. Bosnia I Herzegovina (RBBH) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The guarantee is for a period of 10 years and provides coverage against the risks of Transfer Restriction and Expropriation.

The project involves the further expansion of RBBH and strengthening of its capital base. This is MIGA's second financial project with RZB in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which offers a wide range of products and services, including payment services, retail banking and credit facilities, trade finance services, and corporate finance including long-term lending, treasury finances, and investment banking services.

MIGA's guarantee to RBBH will not only bolster the Bosnian financial sector through the provision of medium and long-term financing, but also help create a more efficient, sound, and healthy financial sector, which can be competitive in quality and performance. Furthermore, RBBH expects to play an important role in the on-going process of privatization in Bosnia, providing technical solutions and new products to the Bosnian market. The project is expected to contribute to the creation of new jobs in the bank, as well as to generate further employment through local companies benefiting from financing from RBBH. Although not a SME project, RBBH will on-lend up to 30 percent of its portfolio to local SMEs.