BSTDB Extends USD 5 Million to First Investment Bank (Bulgaria) to Stimulate Trade in the Black Sea Region
Press Release | 08-Mar-2001
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will make available USD 5 million credit line to First Investment Bank (Bulgaria), which has been selected by BSTDB as a financial intermediary for its trade finance programmes in Bulgaria. The signing of the loan agreement took place on March 8, 2001 at the BSTDB headquarters in Thessaloniki, Greece. This facility is the first trade finance operation of BSTDB in Bulgaria.
The credit line will contribute to the promotion of export in Bulgaria. First Investment Bank will use the facility to provide Bulgarian exporting companies with working capital. The maximum tenor of financing under the facility will not exceed one year. In addition to receiving pre-export financing, Bulgarian exporters will be able to offer attractive deferred payment terms to their buyers, which will increase their competitiveness and stimulate regional trade.
First Investment Bank was established in 1993. The shareholders of the bank include the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Privatization and Investment Corporation (EPIC). The Bank is recognized as one of the leading commercial banks in Bulgaria. It actively cooperates with international financial institutions, export credit agencies and a number of international commercial banks. The bank is well experienced in international banking and trade financing in particular. First Investment Bank offers pre-export, import and working capital loans to small, medium-sized and big companies in Bulgaria.
Trade financing is one of the priority areas of the BSTDB activities. Since its inauguration in 1999, the total amount of credit facilities approved by the BSTDB Board of Directors exceeded USD 140 million. Of this amount, more than USD 40 million is earmarked for trade financing. BSTDB has already provided pre-export financing through its financial intermediaries in Türkiye, Romania and Georgia for the total amount of USD 22 million, and the Bank is negotiating similar agreements with leading commercial banks in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria.