New BSTDB SME Facility to Support Small and Medium Enterprises in Azerbaijan
Press Release | 29-May-2012
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank made available a USD 5 million SME loan facility to Unibank in Azerbaijan. Unibank will use the facility for financing projects for modernization, capacity expansion and diversification of products and services of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan. The term of the facility is 5 years.
“BSTDB continues to facilitate access to capital for SMEs, which is essential for the country’s sustainable growth. Support for the SME sector development is a priority under the Bank’s country strategy agreed with the Government of Azerbaijan last year”, said Mustafa Boran, BSTDB Vice President Banking.
"With this financing, BSTDB and Unibank continue its long-standing relationship. Financing of small and medium-sized enterprises is one of the bank’s focus activities, and the project contributes to securing jobs in this field. As one of biggest commercial banks in Azerbaijan, we have a special responsibility in this issue, said Faig Huseynov, chairman of Unibank` s Board.
This is the second SME loan facility provided by BSTDB to Unibank, after a successful completion of the first credit line in the amount of USD 5 million provided in 2008. Besides, Unionbank has been utilizing a BSTDB Trade Finance Facility in the amount of USD 3 million since 2005, under which the aggregate amount of disbursements has reached USD 15.7 million.
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Unibank was established in 2002 as a result of the merger of two private commercial banks of Azerbaijan - MBANK (est. 1992) and PROMTEKHBANK (est. 1994). Unibank has signed Equity Participation Agreements with EBRD (15.15% shares) in 2003 and with DEG (8.33% shares) in 2005. Being the 7th largest bank in the country with a 3.42% market share, Unibank is active player in the local lending market with strong presence throughout the country and good brand recognition.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters is 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 SDR 3 billion (appx. EUR 3.5 billion). BSTDB is rated long-term “A” by Standard and Poor’s and “A3” by Moody’s.