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European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
7 May 2009
Related links
Kyrgyz Republic homepage
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EBRD supports Kyrgyz economy with $20 million credit for small and
micro lending
Investments part of EUR432.4 million facility to banks in eight
eastern European countries
The EBRD's Board of Directors has approved a credit line of $20
million to ATF Bank-Kyrgyzstan, to support the Kyrgyz economy via
credits to the country's micro and small and medium-sized business
sectors.
The loans are part of the EBRD's response to the global financial
crisis, providing a flow of finance to the real economy in Kyrgyzstan
at a time of scarce alternative commercial funding.
Subject to the conclusion of legal documentation, of the total, $14
million would be provided for SME lending and $6 million for lending
to the micro sector. $5 million of the overall credit line would be
made available in Kyrgyz soms, the local currency. ATF is part of the
UniCredit group.
"This is an important contribution to the Kyrgyz economy during the
crisis when exports are falling and there are few remittances to help
fund private consumption," said Kenji Nakazawa, the EBRD's Head of
Office in the Kyrgyz Republic.
"The SME is one of the main priorities of ATF Bank's activity. In
these difficult market circumstances the support of EBRD is very
timely for the country's economy. I am very pleased to see that our
long-term partnership with the EBRD has been strengthened even
further", said Alexander Picker, CEO of ATF Bank.
Both credits are part of a joint initiative with the UniCredit group
to continue investing in eastern Europe and central Asia and so keep
funding open to the real economy.
The EBRD is making investments worth a total of EUR432.4 million in
UniCredit subsidiaries across eight eastern European countries, as
part of a joint effort to tackle the impact of the global economic
crisis on the region. The aim is to provide medium and long-term debt
and equtiy financing through UniCredit subsidiaries in support of
SMEs, lease finance and energy efficiency projects.
UniCredit is the largest banking group in the central and eastern
European region, with over 4,000 branches in 19 countries. The group
has invested around EUR10 billion of equity in central and eastern
Europe and has around EUR85 billion of total customers loans in the
region. Beside its own funding programs to its subsidiaries, it
cooperates with international institutions including the EBRD in order
to ensure continuing support to the local economies during those
challenging times.
The EBRD investment is part of the joint pledge by the EBRD, the World
Bank Group and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to provide over
EUR24 billion in support of the banking sectors in the region and to
fund lending to businesses hit by the global crisis.
The International Financial Institutions (IFIs) are working with key
banking groups active in eastern Europe to deliver a rapid response to
the financing requirements of individual subsidiaries and
complementing the funding plans of the parents. This project with
UniCredit is expected to be followed by combined investments in the
eastern subsidiaries of other banking groups.
In response to the crisis, the EBRD has increased its planned
investments in the financial sector by 50 percent to EUR3 billion this
year. It has also announced a doubling of its funding to support
important cross border commerce via its Trade Facilitation Programme.
In the first quarter of this year, the EBRD had made investments of
EUR1.1 billion, a rise of 64 percent from the same period in 2008.
Total investments of EUR7 billion are expected this year, up over 30
percent from 2008.
The individual components of the EUR432.4 million investment facility
are the following:
UniCredit (UC) Bank Hungary
SME lending
EUR50 million
Bulbank (Bulgaria)
SME lending
EUR50 million
Zagrebacka Banka (Croatia)
SME lending
EUR50 million
UC Bank Serbia
SME lending
EUR30 million
UC Bank Bosnia
SME lending
EUR30 million
UC Leasing Serbia
Leasing
EUR15 million
UC Leasing Bosnia
Leasing
EUR15 million
UC Leasing Ukraine
Leasing
$25 million
ATF (Kazakhstan)
SME lending
$70 million
ATF (Kazakhstan)
Energy Efficiency
$30 million
Ukrsotsbank (Ukraine)
Tier 2 capital
$100 million
ATFBank-Kyrgyzstan
SME lending
$20 million
About UniCredit:
UniCredit is a major international financial institution with strong
roots in 22 European countries as well as representative offices in 27
other markets, with over 10,200 branches, approximately 174,000
employees at 31 December 2008. In the CEE region UniCredit operates
the largest international banking network with over 4,000 branches and
outlets in 19 countries. For further information, visit:
www.unicreditgroup.eu
Press contact:
Anthony Williams, Head of Media Relations - Tel: +44 20 7338 6997;
E-mail: williama@ebrd.com
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