Financed ProjectsExpress Leasing 2 - MSME financing

Identification Code:

OP/21/0031

Total Operation Cost:

3.000.000

Maturity:

48 months

Operation Status:

Description and Purpose of the Operation:

The Loan aims to contribute towards expanding of the MSME lending program of one of the leading non-banking micro-finance companies in Moldova and thus facilitate the access to finance for micro, small and medium sized private businesses and individual entrepreneurs. The proceeds of the loan shall be used by the Borrower exclusively for the purpose of financing Sub-Loans to beneficiaries which satisfy the eligibility criteria agreed with the Bank.

Countries of Operation:

Moldova (100,00 %)

Financial Product:

SME's

Sector:

Financial Institutions

Domain:

Private

Borrower/Client:

OCN ICS "Express Leasing & Microcredit" SRL is a leading non-bank financial institution specialized in financial leasing, micro and SME financing.

Co-Financiers/Participants:

.

Guarantors/Sponsors:

.

Developmental and Regional Cooperation Impact:

Access to finance is among the top challenges for doing business in Moldova. Against low loans to GDP ratio, compared to peers, there is likely high demand for financing from the private sector. Given this situation, the provision of funding through the non-banking sector to the private sector is a welcome development. The operation involves a USD 3 million loan to Express Leasing and is expected to have modest but favorable economic benefits for the Moldovan economy, the most relevant being additional tax revenue gains from increased economic activity under the additional amount provided. In addition, the additional amount provided will help further enhance benefits such as increases in employment, increase in export capacity and competitiveness, and multiplier effects for other parts of the economy. The regional cooperation element is similarly expected to be modest. Other BSTDB countries are important trade partners for Moldova so to the extent SMEs benefiting from financing from the operation engage in export activities, there will be regional cooperation benefits.

Environmental Classification and Impact (summary):

Environmental and Social (E&S) category FI. The Borrower performs basic E&S checks of its portfolio, which mainly resumes to compliance with the list of excluded activities, and national legal and regulatory requirements. The portfolio analysis suggests that it is associated with limited to low E&S risks and impacts. The Borrower employs a permanent staff responsible for health and safety and has trained its credit risk officers to perform basic E&S checks based on EBRD’s E-Manual for E&S Management by FIs. Considering the nature of the portfolio and the size of its individual lending it is unlikely for these to generate material E&S issues. For the purpose of this operation no other E&S due diligence is deemed necessary.

Operation Leader:

Financial Institutions II

E-mail:

fi2@bstdb.org