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AGREEMENT ON BUSINESS COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CITY OF NIS AND BANCA INTESA AD BEOGRAD SIGNED

Within the City of Nis Local Economic Development Program for 2018, implemented by the City of Nis Office for Local Economic Development and Projects the public invitation was sent to banks interested in short-term lending to commercial entities from the territory of the City of Nis, with the participation of the City through subsidizing interest on loans for procurement of working capital, costs of purchasing machinery and equipment, modernization of the production process, stabilization of production, investment in new modern means of labor and production for the purpose of developing entrepreneurship, and construction, reconstruction and renovation of office space, new employment. The Commission for the allocation of funds in the framework of the realization of this program, according to the criteria from the public call, chose the most favorable bid submitted by Banca Intesa. The City Council accepted the recommendation of the Commission and Business Cooperation Agreement was signed between the City of Nis and Banca Intesa. The agreement was signed by the Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic on behalf of the City, and on behalf of the bank, the Director for the small business sale sector in the Regional Center Nis Milan Bogdanovic and the regional director for business with individuals and small businesses in the Regional Center Nis Violeta Marjanović.

“For the City of Nis it is very important that such programs are implemented in order to stimulate the development of entrepreneurship and thus contribute to the further reduction of the unemployment rate in our city. Local self-governments need reliable partners for the realization of these plans, and I am therefore pleased that we will implement this program in cooperation with Banca Intesa. The City of Nis allocates 9 362 409,00 dinars for the interest subsidy on loans that will be allocated to business entities and I sincerely hope that they will be more interested in this kind of assistance than last year, “Mayor Darko Bulatovic said at the signing of the Cooperation Agreement .

“It is our great pleasure that the City of Nis recognized Banca Intesa as a reliable partner for the implementation of the local economic development program through subsidized lending to entrepreneurs, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises this year. The signing of this agreement thus represents a continuation of cooperation by which we supported the entrepreneurs in Nis in the previous year with 134 million dinars of loans with a subsidized interest rate. This segment of the economy is the main driver of economic growth throughout our country, which is why encouraging its development is a strategically important part of Banca Intesa’s total business, “said Violeta Marjanovic, Regional Director for Retail and Small Business in Banca Intesa, Regional Center Nis.

The minimum loan amount for which the interest will be subsidized is 100,000.00 dinars, and the maximum amount of 2,000,000.00 dinars. The City of Nis will subsidize interest until all the allocation is spent. The purpose of subsidizing a part of the loan is to contribute to economic growth through easier access of the private sector to credit funds which are approved on more favorable terms.