The total fund of Eximbank’s export refinancing credit programme (EHP) was increased from EUR 750 million to EUR 1bn and if required this amount can be even higher, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said in Budapest.
The Minister and Eximbank CEO Roland Nátrán signed cooperation agreements with 18 domestic commercial banks on extending their existing refinancing credit contracts with preferential interest rates and tenure of more than two years which had been concluded with Eximbank within the framework of EHP.
Mihály Varga called exports one of the most successful areas of SMEs, as the share of exports by these enterprises within total exports increased from 26.8 percent in 2011 to 30 percent last year, while over the past four years the volume of exports in general was also significantly higher.
He also said he believed that one of the most pressing problems of the business sector in 2010 was that enterprises could not gain access to financial resources which would have been vital for expansion and the utilization of opportunities. Thanks to the measures introduced since then, in Hungary any company with an adequate business idea or model is capable of taking out a loan. He mentioned that the Széchenyi Recreation Card programme has been extended; an enterprise-financing credit programme, the MNB’s Funding for Growth Scheme and Eximbank’s export credit refinancing programme have also been launched.
The Minister stressed that the Government has been assisting the efforts of SMEs to enter international markets. In the opinion of Mihály Varga, it has been the right decision in May 2012 to bring Eximbank under the direct management of the Ministry for National Economy and thus the Ministry has gained an effective economic stimulus tool. Through the partnership with Eximbank, he added, the Ministry has been actively contributing to the growth of domestic exports and to the improvement of Hungarian companies’ competitiveness.
The Minister pointed out that 500 companies have hitherto benefited from Eximbank’s preferential financing and insurance facilities and 21 credit institutions have participated in the bank’s refinancing credit programme. Mihály Varga emphasised that since May 2012 the banking and insurance institution has fuelled Hungarian exports by providing some HUF 1000bn.
He pointed out that the bank provides assistance for Hungarian enterprises through several new options, such as the financing of supplier activities, export-oriented investment projects and the export of services. These elements have been created to improve the prospects of Hungarian enterprises on foreign markets.
The Minister highlighted the fact that the export refinancing credit programme aims to bolster the Hungarian export sector in general and the competitiveness of SMEs in particular, promote the creation of jobs, improve the position of Hungarian SMEs on external markets and strengthen the financial background of domestic suppliers. He stressed that the credit institutions which have joined the programme constitute 90 percent of domestic commercial banks.
As Mihály Varga stated the fact that the risk margin charged by commercial banks could be maintained at a favourable level, below 2 percent on average in 2013, and thus exporters can benefit from the preferential rates offered by Eximbank.
Eximbank CEO Roland Nátrán emphasised that the total amount of EHP has been continuously increasing and in fact it has no upper financial limit.
(Ministry for National Economy)
