The bank also signed a letter of commitment for participation in the syndicated loan of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for municipalities’ development

At a ceremony in the Council of Ministers’ building, an official agreement was signed between the Fund for Local Authorities and Governments – FLAG and UniCredit Bulbank for a service bank of the Fund. UniCredit Bulbank won the competition among four other leading banks in Bulgaria.

“After many months of hard work and preparation and thanks to the full cooperation of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and UniCredit Bulbank, FLAG is now ready to start operation”, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Dimcho Michalevski said. He explained that the municipalities already show a considerable interest in the possibilities for funding which FLAG has to offer together with EBRD and UniCredit Bulbank.

Officially, FLAG would be ready to start working on 15 January.

“Obviously, this is one of the most significant programmes for municipalities’ development. With regard to banking, the agreement that was signed today is a strategic partnership with the municipalities and a continuation of the excellent long-term relations which exist between UniCredit Bulbank and EBRD”, UniCredit Bulbank’s CEO Levon Hampartzoumian said. Mr.Hampartzoumian thanked the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works and FLAG for the perfectly conducted selection procedure and assured FLAG that UniCredit Bulbank would do its best to achieve the best project implementation possible from a financial perspective.

In its capacity of a service bank, through its branch network, UniCredit Bulbank will accept the various projects, will provide financial control and transparent implementation procedure.

Apart from the service bank agreement, at the ceremony in the Council of Ministers building, UniCredit Bulbank signed a letter of commitment for participation in the syndicated loan disbursed by EBRD to FLAG. The EUR 35 million loan agreement was also signed today by FLAG’s CEO Emil Savov and EBRD Director for Bulgaria James Hyslop.