Latvia. VAS Latvijas Hipoteku un zemes banka

The 10-year-maturity loan programme totalling EUR 100 million has been provided for financing projects carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Latvia. The loan programme will finance the Latvian government’s SME facility aimed at raising the competitiveness of the country’s small and medium businesses and revitalising the Latvian economy, helping to offset the effects of the current recession.

Latvijas Hipoteku un zemes banka (Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia, Hipoteku banka) will lend on the funds acquired from NIB for strengthening the export capacity of local producers competitive on foreign markets. The SME sector is the backbone of the Latvian economy. The financing of the local SMEs will enhance the competitiveness of the country.

Hipoteku banka is a fully state-owned development and retail bank, used by the government as a tool for implementing development projects related to its core mandate of lending to SMEs. Through its 29-strong office network in the country, the bank also provides regular retail banking account services and mortgage lending on a commercial basis to individual customers and issues mortgage bonds. Hipoteku banka was granted loans from NIB for similar projects in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006.

Hipoteku banka has an environmental policy and environmental procedures integrated into its credit process. The subloans under the loan programme are expected to be mostly neutral in respect to environmental impacts, and will be evaluated by NIB, based on yearly reporting from Hipoteku banka. NIB has been cooperating with Hipoteku banka to develop their environmental requirements for assessing and monitoring projects since 2003. NIB’s previous loan programmes onlent through Hipoteku banka involved allocations to the forestry, transport and retail trade sectors, as well as within services and tourism.