The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF), in cooperation with the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, developed a brochure on the risks of taking up mortgage loans
EFSE DF helps Macedonian households to improve their understanding of mortgage loans
Frankfurt and Skopje, 2 November, 2015 - The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF), in cooperation with the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia, developed a brochure on the risks of taking up mortgage loans. The publication will go a long way towards enabling borrowers to make sound financial decisions and avoid over-indebtedness.
The brochure, directed at households in Macedonia, informs on the range of risks – including foreign currency risk – that should be considered before taking out long-term mortgage loans. Available in Macedonian and Albanian, it explains the basic principles in an easy to understand, straightforward manner. The brochure will be distributed via local financial institutions; it will be accompanied by a short video. Both language versions of the publication are also available online via the EFSE website at www.efse.lu.
“Responsible Finance is one of the most important topics on the EFSE DF’s agenda, and improving financial literacy in local households is an important piece of this puzzle,” says Markus Aschendorf, Chairperson of the EFSE DF. “Having organised successful workshops on financial literacy for journalists together with the National Bank in February, and had delegates from the National Bank attend our workshop on scorecard development with SCHUFA in Germany in 2014, we are pleased to expand this fruitful partnership.”
"The main idea of the brochure 'Buying a home with a mortgage loan' is to raise the level of financial literacy among the population of the Republic of Macedonia. The brochure represents a practical guide so that the future owners of a home learn more about the risks of long-term indebtedness." says Dimitar Bogov, Governor of the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia.
Please follow these links to download the brochure 'Buying a home with a mortgage loan' on Macedonian and Albanian and follow this link to view the promotional video on Macedonian.
The Development Facility of the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE DF) was created in 2006 to support the EFSE’s development finance mandate. Its mission is to deploy effective, targeted and innovative technical assistance to maximise the impact and outreach of the Fund’s development finance mandate in its target countries. The capacity-building services of the EFSE DF encompass capacity building and training, financial sector support as well as applied research with the aim to strengthen the internal capacities and operations of the Fund’s partner lending institutions.
The EFSE DF operates independently from the Fund in a fiduciary arrangement under Luxembourg law. The DFC (Development Facility Committee) comprising members from KfW Development Bank (KfW), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank – OeEB) and the Netherlands Finance Company (FMO) is responsible for assessing and approving all project proposals and provides strategic guidance to the EFSE DF.
About the European Fund for Southeast Europe
The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE) was initiated by KfW Development Bank (KfW) with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Commission. It aims to foster economic development and prosperity in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and Turkey. As access to finance is a key success factor in developing the micro, small and medium enterprise segments, the EFSE focuses on assisting local financial sectors in strengthening their ability to ensure adequate and sustainable financing. The funding the EFSE provides as long-term finance primarily for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) – but also for private households in the form of home improvement loans – is channelled to these loan customers through local partner lending institutions. Supporting the EFSE’s investment activities is the EFSE Development Facility, which provides partner lending institutions with technical assistance, consulting and training services to build operational capacities and professional management.
Initiated by KfW Development Bank (KfW) on 15 December 2005 from four multi-donor programs under its management, the EFSE is the first public-private partnership of its kind and the first privately managed fund in development finance to leverage private funding for MSE finance in the target region. Capital is provided by donor agencies, international financial institutions and private institutional investors, including the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Commission (EC), the Government of Albania, Small and Medium Business Credit Support CJSC (SMBCS), a subsidiary of the Central Bank of Armenia, the Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank - OeEB), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), KfW as Lead Investor, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Netherlands Finance Company (FMO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB),
Sal. Oppenheim and Deutsche Bank.
Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.à r.l., Luxembourg, and Finance in Motion GmbH, Germany, are, respectively, the EFSE’s Fund Manager and Fund Advisor.
For more information about the European Fund for Southeast Europe, please visit: http://www.efse.lu/.