The European Guarantee Funds have provided over 70 billion euro guarantees to small and medium enterprises (SME) in 2009. Compared with the previous year, this marks an increase of 58%, the European Mutual Guarantee Association (АЕСМ) reported at its annual forum in Bled, Slovenia. Among the participants in the forum was the daughter company of the Bulgarian Development Bank, the National Guarantee Fund. The Fund is a member of the European Association since September 2009.
The seminar appreciated the positive contribution of the guarantee schemes in facilitating the access of SME to financing at the time of an economic crisis. The main focus of the forum were the specific needs of the small and medium enterprises in the process of post-crisis recovery and the opportunities for improvement of the framework conditions for financing and issuing of guarantees in the following years, the chairman of the National Guarantee Fund Board of Directors Todor Vanev announced.
The European Mutual Guarantee Association has 36 member organizations working in 18 countries. In 2009 the members of the association had a total guarantee portfolio volume of 70 billion euro and issued new guarantees worth a total of 34 billion euro.
The National Guarantee Fund is a daughter company of the Bulgarian Development Bank, established at the end of 2008. The creation of the NGF and the development of the guarantee schemes was based on the experience of French, Austrian, Italian, Belgian and other European states’ guarantee funds. Until now the Fund has provided guarantees worth BGN 31 million, which guaranteed credits for more than BGN 71 million.
