Zagrebačka Banka d.d.

This summary covers a guarantee for UniCredit Bank Austria AG's (UBA) €250 million shareholder loan to its subsidiary, Zagrebačka Banka d.d. (ZABA) in Croatia. UBA has applied for a MIGA guarantee of up to €238 million ($314 million) for a period of three years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance. The guarantee represents MIGA's continued support to UBA in Croatia, as the agency covered UBA's two previous shareholder loans to ZABA of €200 million in 2009 and €280 million in 2010.

The purpose of this shareholder loan is to support the development of ZABA’s loan portfolio. Accordingly, UBA intends to use a part of the loan to improve ZABA's structural liquidity ratio by lengthening the tenor of ZABA's existing medium`-term funding. The remaining amount is allocated to support new medium-term lending in the Croatian economy.

Environmental Categorization

The project is a Category FI under MIGA's environmental review procedures.

Development Impact

Several years after the global financial crisis, the state of Croatia's economy remains delicate as a result of spillover effects from over-indebted neighboring euro-zone countries. This loan forms part of UBA's continuing efforts to support ZABA during a time of economic contraction and uncertainty, strengthen ZABA's balance sheet, and improve access to credit within the economy. Given ZABA's size and systemic importance in the Croatian banking sector, these measures will play critical roles in increasing market liquidity and lending activity in the general economy.

One of the main objectives of the World Bank Group's country partnership strategy for Croatia for 2009-2012 is to strengthen private sector-led growth and accelerate convergence with the European Union. The proposed project is fully consistent with this objective.

From a regional perspective, MIGA's support to this project forms part of the World Bank Group's current two-year plan to actively bolster countries in emerging Europe and Central Asia that are impacted by the euro-zone crisis.