The FINANCIAL — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing to support private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Belarus by providing a new syndicated loan in the total amount of US$ 20 million to Belarusky Narodny Bank (BNB). BNB provides a wide range of services to corporates and retail clients. Its major strategic goal is support for SMEs.
The loan consists of an A loan and B loan for US$ 5 million and US$ 15 million, respectively. While the A loan is provided on the EBRD’s account, the B loan will be extended by a syndication comprising Bank im Bistum Essen eG (BIB), the European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the Dutch development bank FMO, and Triodos Investment Management, according to EBRD.
Valdas Vitkauskas, EBRD Senior Banker and Head of the Financial Institutions team in Belarus, said at the signing ceremony: “The EBRD is very pleased that we – together with BNB and the B loan participants – have been able to attract this new funding and a diverse range of lenders, some of them entirely new to Belarus. Continued access to longer-term financing and expanding the number of fund providers are critical for supporting dynamic private businesses in Belarus at this challenging time for many economies in the region.”
The syndicated loan facility is unique on the Belarus market due to its long maturity of up to four years. BNB will use it to provide local SMEs with long-term funds, which are of critical importance for the expansion of their activities. It will send a signal to money and capital markets and is expected to mobilise a further inflow of international funds to the Belarusian economy.
BNB CEO Constantine Tsereteli commented: “We are delighted with the support and positive assessment of our bank`s operations by foreign investors, and this in turn will undoubtedly be reflected in the development of private SMEs in Belarus.”
Lorenz Jorgensen, EBRD Director for Loan Syndications, said: “The syndicated loan for BNB is an important achievement for the banking sector in Belarus, not only on the basis of the long maturity of four years but also in terms of the success in attracting four international co-lenders to the transaction.”
Since the start of its operations in Belarus, the EBRD has invested almost €1.8 billion in some 70 projects in various sectors of the country’s economy.
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