EXIM Hungary: EUR 120 million Loan from Korea

A consortium led by KDB Bank Europa Ltd., the Budapest-based subsidiary of South Korea-based KDB Bank, has provided EXIM Hungary with a EUR 120 million 3-year general financing loan, EXIM Hungary has told MTI.

According to the statement, the fundraising negotiations with KDB Bank Europa Ltd. started in the fall of 2023, and in the process the Korean financing consortium was expanded with six new banking partners. The disbursement of the loan, totaling EUR 120 million, was completed at the end of summer 2024. EXIM Hungary will use the three-year loan for general financing purposes.

KDB Bank Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of the South Korean state-owned Korea Development Bank and has been present in the Hungarian financial market for more than 30 years. The Budapest-based banking center has significant overseas financing activities, which are available in countries in the Central and Eastern European region and beyond, the statement said.

Mihály Hoffmann, deputy chief financial officer of EXIM Hungary, said in the statement that the consortium led by KDB Bank's Budapest subsidiary has succeeded in reaching an agreement that not only supports their overall financing goals, but also creates opportunities to build new partnerships.

He added that their aim is to continue to place a strong emphasis on international partnerships, as they play a key role in offering competitive and sustainable financing solutions to Hungarian businesses.

The statement stressed that EXIM Hungary, 30 years old this year, remains committed to supporting the implementation of business plans of domestic enterprises and strengthening the long-term growth potential of the Hungarian economy through export lending, capital programs, export credit insurance and domestic credit programs that enhance international competitiveness.

In the past, the expansionary lending has been financed by the banking member of the institutional pair through international bond issues and domestic funding, with a successful issuance of USD 1.25 billion in foreign currency bonds in spring 2023 and EUR 1 billion in the fall of 2023.

The strategic objective of the pair is to further strengthen its global financial links, contributing to the sustainable development of the Hungarian economy and enhancing corporate competitiveness.

EXIM Hungary is the official export credit agency of the country. EXIM is a combination of two legal entities, the state-backed Magyar Export-Import Bank Plc. (Eximbank Plc.) and the Hungarian Export Credit Insurance Company Plc. (MEHIB Plc.). This enables EXIM Hungary to provide both financing and insurance solutions within an integrated framework. EXIM Hungary has already helped to bring Hungarian products or services to some 150 countries around the world.

At the end of 2023, Eximbank had a balance sheet total of HUF 3,642 billion and a loan portfolio of HUF 2,439 billion, with 3,211 corporate customers, 88% of which are in the SME segment. Its main partners are domestic commercial banks, and it finances its customers primarily through them in the form of refinancing.