EUR 20 million to Support SME Financing in Russia
Press Release | 20-Dec-2013
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is providing a EUR 20 million loan to the Russian Center-Invest Bank. The five year loan will facilitate access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southern Russia, a priority area under the BSTDB country strategy for Russia.
“Supporting the development of the real economy sector is one of the BSTDB’s key priorities, particularly in the current challenging environment, where access to funding is limited. This loan will help raise the competitiveness of SMEs, while also providing a boost to the banking sector in Southern Russia”, said Mustafa Boran, BSTDB Vice President Banking.
Borrowed funds from our reliable partner – Black Sea Trade and Development Bank - will allow us to offer favorable terms for regional companies to expand their production , modernization of agriculture equipment and reconstruction of agriculture machinery and reconstruction of production facilities”, said Mr. Sergey Smirnov, Deputy Head of Corporate Lending department of Center-invest Bank
The loan builds up on the successful cooperation between BSTDB and the Center-Invest Bank, launched in 2007.
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Founded in 1992, Center-invest Bank is a leading private bank operating in Southern Russia. With 140 branches and sub-branches in the region, it provides a wide range of modern banking services and products for business and retail customers. EBRD, DEG and other international financial institutions are among the Bank’s shareholders. Center-Invest Bank is rated “Ba3” long-term by Moody’s, with stable outlook.
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 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 “A3” by Moody’s. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
Press contact:
Haroula Christodoulou
Phone: +30 2310 290533
E-mail: cchristodoulou@bstdb.org