Business news

MINSK, 6 December (BelTA) - Belinvestbank will get a €50 million subordinated loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in mid December, BelTA learned from Chairman of Board of the Belarusian bank Andrei Brishtelev.

“By mid December we expect a subordinated debt facility from the EBRD to the amount of €50 million. The funds will be used to increase the limit on major lending programs, including trade financing. Joint projects will also be discussed by the government and the EBRD as part of the public-private partnership cooperation,” said Andrei Brishtelev.

According to the head of Belinvestbank, the bank plans to expand the limits for attracting resources of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development by 30-40%. “We are currently in talks. We have credit lines opened for €60 million,” Andrei Brishtelev said.

In his words, four credit lines are open in Belinvestbank. These funds are also used to finance SME projects. “For example, we are implementing one of the EBRD’s programs in Belarus – Women in Business. This area has been getting a lot of attention recently. Other Belarusian banks also actively support women entrepreneurs,” the head of Belinvestbank added.

Belinvestbank also plans to cooperate with the World Bank, which specialists visited the Belarusian bank last week to conduct a comprehensive assessment of its activity. Belinvestbank intends to take part in the SMEs financial support project to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized companies in Belarus. The World Bank is implementing the project in Belarus in cooperation with the Development Bank.

The agreement between Belarus and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was signed in Minsk on 14 September 2017. It will support the capitalization of OAO Belarusian Bank for Reconstruction and Development Belinvestbank through the €50 million subordinated debt facility.

In May 2015 Belarus and the EBRD signed an agreement on privatizing Belinvestbank. The signed memorandum expects the government to sell a controlling interest in Belinvestbank by 2020. The EBRD acts as a consultant in the course of preparing the bank for privatization.