The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a credit line of €62m (£48.5m) to CSOB Leasing to finance projects carried out by SMEs and midcaps in the Czech Republic.

The EIB said the key aim of the cooperation is to support the development and growth of Czech SMEs and midcaps by financing sustainable investment projects, the renewal and upgrading of entrepreneurial equipment, environmental protection behaviour, green energy, low emission standards and indirectly the creation of new jobs in the country.

This project builds on the successful cooperation between the EIB and CSOB Leasing. The current operation is already the sixth credit line between the two institutions.

Some 1,440 projects carried out by SMEs and midcaps benefited from the preferential terms of the EIB funding lines available to CSOB Group entities in the Czech Republic in 2013-2016.

Last week, the EIB announced it will provide a €30m credit line to Slovakian lessor VÚB Leasing.