RBA AGREES ON EUR 145 MILLION SYNDICATING LOAN FOR ECONOMY

ZAGREB, Sept 10 (Hina) - Raiffeisenbank Austria (RBA) has agreed with a syndicate of 24 banks from 13 countries a EUR145 million loan for the financing of economy and enterprise in Croatia, i.e. projects intended to encourage production and new investments. #L# The loan agreement was signed in Zagreb on Tuesday by RBA chairman of the board Zdenko Adrovic and a representative of Mizuho Corporate Bank, Shinya Wako, on behalf of the bank syndicate. The other participating banks are the Germany-based Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, DZ Bank, and LB Kiel, as well as banks from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Ireland, and Austria, among others. According to Adrovic, the loan has been approved for a period of three years, with an euribor plus 0.75 percent interest rate. The repayment period may be extended for another three years. Since the beginning of the year RBA's assets have grown by 35 percent to over 13 billion kuna (EUR1.8 billion). Loan funds have increased by 37 percent and exceed 7.5 billion kuna (EUR1.01 billion). Adrovic said RBA would wrap up this year with a growth in placements between 47 and 50 percent and a profit increase of some 50 percent. (hina) ha