BSTDB Steps Up SME Funding in Georgia
Press Release | 01-Dec-2021
New loan to Basisbank will help mitigate the Covid impact
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Basisbank signed a new a loan agreement for a dual-currency SME Loan Facility of EUR 5 million and USD 5 million. Basisbank will channel the BSTDB funds to Georgian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support investments, working capital needs and increase their trade activity. The Facility will ensure uninterrupted lending to businesses and help them weather the impact of the on-going pandemic.
“We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with Basisbank to assist the Georgian SME sector. We are confident our funds will help local small businesses to become stronger and more resilient, contributing to the country’s economy, employment and growth”, said Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB President.
David Tsaava, General Manager of Basisbank commented: "We are happy to continue strengthening cooperation with our valuable partner Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to once again jointly facilitate SME business development in the country by expanding availability of the much needed financial support. BSTDB loan will enable us to maintain and expand longer-term lending to Georgian SMEs, in the time of on-going pandemic, hence complementing other crisis response measures undertaken by Basisbank for its clients so far. We are confident that our collaboration will remain successful in the future.”
The BSTDB’s partnership with Basisbank started in 2012 with a Trade Finance credit line, which was increased from USD 5 million initially to USD 15 million in the next two years that allowed Basisbank to provide on a revolving basis a total of USD 113 million to Georgian exporters and importers. Besides, in 2016 BSTDB provided the first SME credit line of USD 5 million, which was followed by a dual currency USD 10 million/EUR 5 million SME Facility in 2019.
Established in 1993, JSC Basisbank is 92.3% owned by Chinese Hualing Group. The bank provides a broad range of banking services to retail and corporate clients through a network of 24 branches across the country.
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, “A2” by Moody’s and “A+” by the Russian credit rating agency ACRA. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
Contact:
Haroula Christodoulou
E-mail: cchristodoulou@bstdb.org
Phone: +30 2310 290533
Twitter: @BSTDB; @Haroulax
