Contibankaequity

completed

The project consists of up to €20 million ten-year senior loan to NLB Continental Banka and possibly an equity investment representing a 10% stake (about €5 million) in NLB Continental Banka a.d. (the bank). The equity investment is subject to the approval of NLB’s Supervisory board. The purpose of IFC project is to assist the bank in expanding its retail and consumer lending, in addition to enabling it to extend term financing for SMEs and mortgages, particularly within Novi Sad in the Vojvodina region, the second largest economic center in Serbia & Montenegro. The bank is the fifth largest commercial bank in Vojvodina (16th in Serbia, measured by total assets), serving over 150,000 customers, in retail and to corporate customers. The bank has traditionally focused on corporates and industries involved in foreign trade, whilst its new strategy emphasizes retail banking, mainly in the Vojvodina region. The relationship between IFC and the bank started in 2004 when the bank took over three old IFC’s senior loans from 1980’s following the debt restructuring of the State of Serbia. After the restructuring of Serbia’s Paris and London Clubs’ loans, the State became the majority shareholder of the bank with a 98.5% stake. It was offered for sale in a privatization tender in early 2005, and the purchase was made by Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB d.d., Slovenia) in July 2005.