The FINANCIAL — 20 June 2018- The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) provides a 120 million Georgian Lari loan (equivalent of USD 50 million) to TBC Bank to finance investments and working capital needs of Georgian small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
This is the second local currency SME facility that BSTDB extends to TBC Bank since 2015, bringing the total amount to the equivalent of USD 70 million.
By providing for local currency lending to Georgian SMEs, BSTDB helps to overcome foreign exchange rate fluctuation risks, a challenge often faced by businesses and contributes to the Georgian Government’s de-dollarization program in the banking sector.
Mr. Vakhtang Butskhrikidze, CEO of TBC Bank said: “We are delighted to continue our successful cooperation with BSTDB, already lasting for more than fifteen years. The recent two local currency facilities we received from BSTDB enable us to provide local currency loans that are increasingly in demand from our customers and will enable TBC Bank to further strengthen its position in the SME segment and will benefit the Georgian financial sector at large”.
Mr. Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President commented: “Domestic capital markets are critical to providing long-term, local-currency finance for the private sector that plays an essential role in job creation and income generation. We are happy to bring further our partnership with TBC Bank, one of the most prominent financial groups in Georgia and in the Black Sea region, to expand access to finance for local entrepreneurs through capital market innovations. We appreciate the support of the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Georgia in developing our local currency lending program in the country”.
BSTDB cooperates with TBC Group since 2003, having provided more than USD 162 million in revolving Trade Finance, SME finance, and leasing facilities.
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TBC Bank, founded in 1992, is the largest bank in Georgia having the market share of close to 40% of total assets, loans and deposits. Employing more than 7000 staff, the Bank serves around 2.2 million customers through 167 branches and one of the largest networks of ATMs and POS terminals and advanced internet and mobile banking services. TBC Bank is the bank of first choice for most MSMEs in Georgia. TBC Bank is rated “BB-“ by Fitch and “Ba3” by Moody’s..
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s and “A2” by Moody’s. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
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