Project Description

The project concerns a follow-on equity investment in which EBRD will acquire an additional 5 per cent stake in ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA. Added to the initial 3.6 per cent subscription made in 2018, this will bring the EBRD’s stake to 8.7 per cent. As part of the transaction, the EBRD will also acquire a 9.9 per cent stake in the management company, ProCredit General Partner AG. The EBRD will become a core shareholder of the ProCredit Group alongside Zeitinger Invest, KfW, Doen Participaties and ProCredit Staff Invest. The stakes in each entity will be acquired in a private bilateral transaction from the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The completion of transaction is subject to regulatory approvals where applicable.

Project Objectives

The investment will support ProCredit Holding in its transformation to an open joint stock company while preserving its impact orientation, as announced by ProCredit Holding in October 2022. Furthermore, the EBRD will support the Group’s business strategy, governance, and collaborate with ProCredit on furthering its climate mitigation practices and aligning its business and financial flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Transition Impact

ETI score: 63

The project supports Well-Governed and Resilient transition qualities:

• Well-Governed: EBRD, as a new core shareholder, will support governance, strategy and conversion of ProCredint Holding into an open joint stock company. In addition, the project will help ProCredit Holding in advancing its business practises in relation to climate change.
• Resilient: The project will support the Group in financing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across central and south-eastern Europe.

Client Information

ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA is partnership limited by shares incorporated in Germany (KGaA). It is a development-oriented banking group focusing on financing SMEs, with diversified operations via 12 banking subsidiaries with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe. ProCredit Holding is listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE) since December 2016 and it is a long-standing client of EBRD.

Additionality

• Risk mitigation: EBRD’s long-term relationship with a client provides comfort to the client to be willing to take on more risk and/or finance and help the client to mitigate climate governance risks and take climate action, such as to improve its internal corporate governance for managing climate risks.
• Standard-setting: EBRD will support client’s corporate governance, including improvements in climate risk management

Environmental and Social Summary

Categorised FI (ESP 2014). ProCredit Holding will be required to comply with PRs 2, 4 & 9, and further, implement and comply with the relevant EBRD’s Environmental & Social (E&S) Procedures. ESD has undertaken monitoring of existing ProCredit Holding exposures and those subsidiaries have demonstrated compliance with the EBRD’s E&S requirements including evidence of Human Resource  and ESMS policies and procedures in place that are commensurate with EBRD’s Performance Requirements 2, 4 and 9. Considering the nature of activities supported, the project will be required to: (i) continue to implement a procedure to ensure that all investments by its subsidiaries are screened and processed to avoid supporting activities on the EBRD E&S Exclusion List; (ii) have senior management or qualified persons in place to manage and implement the E&S procedures; (iii) continue to ensure that the systems and policies are commensurate with the EBRD Performance Requirements 2, 4 and 9 in all subsidiaries and (iv) continue to produce Annual E&S Reports satisfactory to the EBRD.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

None.

Company Contact Information

Investor Relations Team
PCH.ir@procredit-group.com
+49 69 951 437 300
https://www.procredit-holding.com/
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA
Rohmerplatz 33-37
60486 Frankfurt am Main
Federal Republic of Germany

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

17 Mar 2023

Understanding Transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168

Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794

Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and the associated Performance Requirements (PRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”.  The ESP and the PRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation as well as to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about environmental and social performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD additionally requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts arising from projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and Compliance

The EBRD’s Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all activities of the Bank in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The Bank believes that identifying and resolving issues at the project assessment approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts, and also helps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is also responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, both within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. All matters reported will be handled by OCCO for follow-up. All reports, including anonymous ones, will be reviewed. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank’s countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM  via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.