Banca Intesa Beograd brings minibonds to Serbia to boost SME growth
The launch is part of Intesa Sanpaolo’s wider minibond initiative and marks a new step in expanding innovative financing across Central and Eastern Europe.
Banca Intesa Beograd (BIB), part of the international banking group Intesa Sanpaolo, is the first bank in Serbia to launch minibonds.
BIB acts as arranger, sponsor of the issue and underwrites the entire amount of the bonds, ensuring fast execution and secure transactions for all participants.
Why it matters: Minibonds are innovative financial instruments designed to improve access to financing for SMEs and support their investment plans. They also aim to strengthen the competitiveness, sustainability and resilience of the Serbian economy, while encouraging the development of the domestic capital market.
“This is a strong message of confidence in our clients and in the future of the Serbian economy”.
Darko Popović, CEO & President of Executive Board, Banca Intesa Beograd.
How the minibonds work: Individual issues are conducted on the basis of an assessment of the client's business plan and creditworthiness.
Maturity: 7 years.
Grace period: 2 years.
Maximum issue: €10 million.
No hard collateral required.
Intesa Sanpaolo’s CEE minibond strategy
The introduction of minibonds in the Serbian market is part of Intesa Sanpaolo's Minibond Initiative and BIB's broader strategy aimed at supporting sustainable economic growth, in line with the best practices of European financial markets.
“Our goal is to empower SMEs with simpler, faster access to capital markets, enabling them to execute on their growth and transformation projects, while upholding high standards of risk analysis and risk management”.
Giuseppe Ferraro, Head of Corporate, SME and Small Business at Intesa Sanpaolo’s International Banks Division.
This innovative method of financing further strengthens the bank's position as the market leader and represents an important step forward in the development and diversification of the country's financial ecosystem.
“After the remarkable success of minibonds in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo is bringing this innovative financing solution to companies across the CEE region. Early results are promising: in Croatia alone, we placed €60 million in just six months. Now, we are expanding the initiative to Serbia and Slovakia”.
Giuseppe Ferraro, Head of Corporate, SME and Small Business at Intesa Sanpaolo’s International Banks Division