InvestEU GUPG - Unicredit Bulbank (EBRD-55598)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Bulgaria
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Apr 9, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Unicredit Bulbank (UCB) AD
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 53.12 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 50
Converted using 2025-03-04 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 106.23 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 100
Converted using 2025-03-04 exchange rate.
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Mar 8, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Mar 4, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EBRD, the project consists of an uncapped unfunded portfolio guarantee to be provided by the EBRD as an InvestEU implementing partner to Unicredit Bulbank (UCB), as an eligible partner financial intermediary ("PFI") in Bulgaria under the EBRD's InvestEU Green Uncapped Portfolio Guarantee Framework. The guarantee will cover a newly generated portfolio of loans amounting to up to EUR 100 million, financing eligible green projects related to buildings or sustainable transport. The Project benefits from partial first loss risk cover from the European Union under the InvestEU Fund.

The Project aims to support the EBRD's green agenda in Bulgaria and the national green economy priorities. It will bridge the funding gap for sustainable energy investments in the country and support the resilience of a systemic bank and expand its green lending capacity.

The project is considered 'Green' by the EBRD as it aims to address the issue of high energy consumption in buildings and the transport sector in Bulgaria through increased sustainable energy investments leading to energy savings and reduction of carbon emissions. UCB will allocate at least 200% of the EBRD guarantee amount to eligible green projects, thus enhancing the Project's contribution to green economy transition.

The proposed operation will be supported by Technical Cooperation, structured and managed by EBRD and funded under the InvestEU Advisory Hub.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The EBRD categorized the project risk as FI.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, UCB is the third largest and a systematically important bank in Bulgaria with a market share of c. 18.2% of total assets as of YE2024. UCB is majority-owned by Unicredit S.p.A. with an ownership stake of 99.45%.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Financial Intermediary - UniCredit BulBank AD:

Kalina Angelova
Email: Kalina.Angelova@UniCreditGroup.Bg
Phone: +359 2 9309 649
Website: https://www.unicreditbulbank.bg/
Address: 8 Aksakov Street, 4th floor, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html

How it works

How it works