18.09.2012Municipal Bank Partners with Austrian Bank in Supporting Bulgarian Municipalities

• Municipal Bank AD and the prime bank of Lower Austria - Hypo Noe Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding
• Municipal Bank AD and Hypo Noe Group will fund Bulgarian municipal projects
• The Memorandum was signed with Bulgarian Ministers Lilyana Pavlova, and Ivaylo Moskovski present

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between Municipal Bank AD and HYPO NOE Group in the presence of Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works, and Ivaylo Moskovski, Minister of Transport, Information Technologies, and Communications, at the Bulgarian-Austrian Business Forum in Vienna. The Memorandum was signed by Sasho Tchakalski, Executive Director and Chairman of the Management Board of Municipal Bank and Peter Harrold, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of HYPO NOE Group. The business forum was a part of the official agenda of the visit of the President of Bulgaria, Rosen Plevneliev in Austria.
The purpose of the Memorandum is for the two banks to cooperate in funding public and commercial projects of Bulgarian municipalities. Municipal Bank is a leader in municipal lending in Bulgaria, and HYPO NOE Group has extensive experience in the financing of municipal projects in Lower Austria, and in various parts of Central and Eastern Europe such as Germany, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
“The Memorandum of Understanding signed between Municipal Bank and HYPO NOE Group marks the beginning of an important and fruitful cooperation with one of the most respected and stable financial institutions in Europe. We have a common interest in jointly financing various high value projects of Bulgarian municipalities. HYPO NOE Group has extensive experience in financing specific activities of municipalities in Europe and we will be happy for them to be our partner to support the development of our municipalities,” Sasho Tchakalski, Executive Director of Municipal Bank said.
The management of Municipal Bank also positively views the fact that the cooperation with HYPO NOE Group will bring additional know-how in financing projects related to the construction and modernization of kindergartens, schools and other specific projects. “Thus we will be able to be even more supportive to the Bulgarian municipalities so that they can effectively and purposefully perform their social functions,” Sasho Tchakalski added.
“HYPO NOE Group is a recognized expert in public and corporate finance, and we have specific solutions for complex projects across Europe. We are glad that we will cooperate with Municipal Bank in Bulgaria and jointly invest in various projects. Having a reliable and trusted partner in Municipal Bank will allow us to offer better and innovative financing and support solutions for Bulgarian municipalities. We are sure that our cooperation will be long lasting, beneficial and effective,” Peter Harold, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of HYPO NOE Group, said.
The Austrian bank HYPO NOE Group also works on other projects related to Bulgaria. So far, the Austrian bank has financed through bond issues three Bulgarian municipalities - Varna, Shoumen, Kavarna.

HYPO NOE Group, also known as the Bank of Lower Austria is 100% state owned. HYPO NOE Real Consult & HYPO NOE Leasing are parts of the Group. The credit rating of the Bank from Standard & Poor's is “A” (Stable). It is one of the largest Austrian banks with years of experience and tradition. In 2007 it changed its strategic orientation to corporate, project and infrastructure finance in Western Europe and selected countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as sustainable solutions in the public finance segment. Besides corporate business, HYPO NOE Group carries out retail banking and financing to small and medium enterprises in Austria.

Municipal Bank is a universal commercial bank, established in 1996. The bank has extensive experience in the municipal banking niche, but has recently started paying special attention to retail banking and corporate banking. Its aim is to be a customer-oriented bank, and a trusted partner to the business and municipalities, offering the highest standards in the banking sector. Municipal Bank is a licensed primary dealer of government securities, an investment intermediary for corporate securities and a service agent of local budgets. The Bank has a network of 87 outlets in the country and has established correspondent banking relations with over 250 banks worldwide.

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