The second largest financial institution in Croatia Privredna banka Zagreb (PBZ) joins the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme Western Balkans (Western Balkans Sustainable Energy Efficiency Facility II - WeBSEFF II), an initiative of the EBRD in October 2013, which aims to support the efficient use and conservation of energy in the region.
Within the framework of this program, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a loan to PBZ in the amount of 15 million for financing energy efficiency projects and renewable energy sources in the private sector and local and regional self-government in the Republic of Croatia.
The credit line is supported by a grant (incentives) for customers and technical assistance provided by the European Union through the Regional Programme for Energy Efficiency in the Western Balkans and the EBRD's special shareholders' fund.
The total value of credit lines WeBSEFF II is EUR 75 million, and combines long-term financing and technical experts. Structured to approve loans to banks in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia, to finance investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy by private entrepreneurs and local and regional governments.
It is part of the Regional Energy Efficiency Program of the Western Balkans, which is a joint initiative Investment Framework for the Western Balkans (Western Balkans Investment Framework - WBIF) and the EBRD. As part of the roof arrangement, the European Union supports WeBSEFF II with 11.5 million grant for technical cooperation programs and incentives to borrowers for investment, and they will further benefit from free expert opinion, for example in the form of an energy audit.