BSTDB INCREASES EXPORT-IMPORT FINANCING IN GEORGIA

Press Release | 24-Sep-2007

BSTDB selected Cartu Bank from Georgia as a financial intermediary to deliver trade finance products in the country. BSTDB will extend an up to USD 1.5 million revolving trade finance facility to Cartu Bank to advance short-term export and import financing to Georgian companies. The facility will be directed to Georgian exporters to finance production and propose better payment terms to their counter-parties under export contracts, as well as to provide short-term financing to importers for importing goods to Georgia from other member countries of BSTDB.

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Cartu Bank is a joint stock bank, incorporated in Georgia in 1996. Its primary business consists of commercial activities, operations with securities, foreign currencies, originating loans and guarantees. Cartu Bank has well developed plastic cards business with in-house processing center and offers exclusively B2B product – e-commerce in Georgia. Headquartered in Tbilisi, the Bank has a total of four branches throughout Georgia and plans to open two more by end 2008. Cartu Bank ranks sixth in terms of total assets and third by share capital in the Georgian banking market.

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. With an authorized capital of SDR 1 billion (approx. USD 1,5 billion), the Bank supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects in the public and private sectors in its member countries. BSTDB is rated Long Term Baa1 and Short Term P2 by Moody’s.