Oberbank, ČSOB, OTP Banka Join SIH Anticorona Guarantee Scheme

Bratislava, May 12, 2020 – The Slovak Investment Holding (SIH) has reached an agreement with Oberbank, ČSOB and OTP Banka, enlarging the list of banks that have signed the contract to join the SIH Anti-Corona Guarantee in an effort to respond to the ongoing coronacrisis and help entrepreneurs overcome problems caused by the introduction of health and safety measures in the time of pandemic.

“After applying some finishing administrative touches, our list of banks participating in the SIH Anti-Corona Guarantee programme now includes three more commercial banks, namely Oberbank, ČSOB and OTP Banka. As a result, our guarantee scheme as of today has been joined by seven out of nine banks that indicated their interest originally. We assume we should be able to sign respective agreements with the remaining two banks in the course of this or some of the following weeks,” said Peter Dittrich, SIH Executive Board Vice-Chairman and Investments Director.

“As a reliable partner of Slovak firms, we consider it our duty to stand by our clients in hard times. The implementation of this programme strongly enhances our ability to cope with the challenges caused by the COVID-19 virus,” seconded MA Yvonne Janko, Director of Oberbank AG, Branch of Foreign Bank in Slovakia.

“The businesspeople had imagined the year 2020 totally differently, perhaps even better than the previous year. Instead, today they are facing a new type of crisis, which has come almost literally from Sunday to Monday. That is why we take our assistance to them for granted, be it in the field of financing or counselling. And our participation in this guarantee programme is one of the important steps towards entrepreneurs who generate most jobs in Slovakia,” observed Daniel Kollár, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ČSOB.

“OTP Bank always strives to offer its clients services and financial products of the best possible quality. I mean, if you want to make the right decision, you must have good solutions to choose from. That’s why I’m glad that our clients will be able to use the bridge loans covered by the SIH guarantee to overcome the difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This is a good solution for the hard business times we are all facing,” concluded Zita Zemková, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and CEO of OTP Banka Slovensko, a.s.

SIH Anti-Corona Guarantee is a new financial instrument the SIH introduced in order to help Slovak entrepreneurs cope with difficulties caused by the ongoing situation. The provision of favourable-terms loans is designed for entrepreneurs whose business has been negatively affected either directly by the pandemic or indirectly by the quarantine measures aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus. The bridge loans are expected to help the affected businesses overcome financial difficulties caused by forced closing or downsizing of their operation and preserve available jobs despite the current crisis. The eligible SMEs can apply for loans via their respective commercial banks that take part in administering the entire process.

For further and updated information on banks that decided to participate in the implementation of the SIH Anti-Corona Guarantee, please visit the SIH official website at www.sih.sk