- The EU bank will lend up to €75m to the Polish ‘green’ bank to increase its financing for small business and local public entities
- Projects eligible for financing will include energy efficiency in buildings and the use of renewables by companies, municipalities and homeowners associations
More financing for climate-friendly solutions adopted by small and medium-sized businesses in Poland will be available thanks to a €75m (around PLN 350m) loan granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Bank Ochrony Środowiska S.A. (BOŚ), a Polish lender specialised in environment protection.
The loan will allow increasing financial support for projects promoted by small and medium-sized businesses (companies with fewer than 250 employees), so-called mid-caps (up to 3,000 employees), homeowners association and public sector entities. At least 50% will go to projects with a strong climate action focus, such as developing energy efficiency in buildings or the use of renewable sources of energy, including solar power.
The EIB Vice-President, Mrs Teresa Czerwińska, and the President of the Management Board of BOŚ, Mr. Wojciech Hann, signed the agreement today on the sidelines of the Impact’21 Conference in Poznan.
“We are pleased to support BOŚ in their action to help smaller business grow while adopting more environmental friendly solutions”, said Teresa Czerwińska. “Energy efficiency and a better energy mix in particular are important factors for companies which, in this difficult period after lockdowns, want to develop their business responsibly and in line with pro-climate policy. We welcome this agreement in the context of Impact‘21, where we discuss about sustainable solutions for the Polish economy”.
“SMEs, which generate around 50% of the Polish GDP and employ nearly 7 million people, are the most important element of our economy. In the face of the rapidly approaching challenges related to the energy transition, they will require adequate support to meet the ambitious climate targets while maintaining their competitiveness. The loan granted to BOŚ by the EIB will allow our bank to finance investments that reconcile these interests. This is an example of a reference green financial product that benefits all stakeholders and the environment”, said Wojciech Hann, president of the Management Board of Bank Ochrony Środowiska.
Background information
The EIB finances projects in four priority areas – infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, small and midi-sized companies (SMEs). In 2020, the EIB Group provided €5.2 billion in financing to projects in Poland.
The EIB also promotes every year since 2018 a Climate Survey among citizens of various European countries, including Poland, the United States and China. The first findings of this year’s survey were published yesterday in the run-up to the UN conference on climate COP26, which will take place in Glasgow in November. In Poland, the survey shows that 81% of the population thinks that climate change is the biggest challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Please find here the full results and a comment by Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska.
Bank Ochrony Środowiska S.A. (BOŚ) is a Polish bank present on the financial market since 1991. Our speciality is the financing of environmental protection projects. Since the beginning of its operations, BOŚ has financed environment-friendly projects for a total amount of approx. 23.2 billion Polish zloty. In addition, we offer retail, corporate and investment banking, as well as other financial services. We are the parent company in the BOŚ S.A. Capital Group, which comprises the following subsidiaries: Dom Maklerski BOŚ S.A. and BOŚ Leasing - Eko Profit S.A. Since 1997, the shares of BOŚ are listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.