MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Credins Leasing of Albania Borrows €1.5m ($1.97m) from European Bank of Reconstruction and Development

Credins Leasing, a holding of Credins Bank of Albania that provides funding to individuals for vehicles and equipment, recently borrowed EUR 1.5 million (USD 1.97 million) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution that provides funding to support micro- and small businesses in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region. In support of the loan, EBRD will also provide technical assistance regarding the approval of loans and loan officer training [1].

While financial data specific to Credins Leasing is unavailable, Credins Bank reports LEK 84.2 billion (USD 781 million) in total assets, a gross loan portfolio of LEK 58.6 billion (USD 544 million), total deposits of LEK 71.4 billion (USD 662 million), 168,489 depositors, return on assets (ROA) of 2.13 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 25.4 percent as of 2011. Credins operates in 16 cities through 43 branches within the country. As of the same period, EBRD reports total assets of EUR 47 billion (USD 61.7 billion), USD 611 million in disbursements to microfinance projects and 112 active microfinance investments.

By Sarah Benali, Research Associate

About Credins Bank
Credins Bank reports LEK 84.22 billion (USD 781 million) in total assets, a gross loan portfolio of LEK 58.63 billion (USD 544 million), total deposits of LEK 71.4 billion (USD 662 million) with 168,489 depositors, return on assets (ROA) of 2.13 percent and return on equity (ROE) of 25.43 percent as of 2011. Credins aims to improve the quality of life in the 16 cities in which it operates. Credins Leasing is a holding of Credins Bank that provides funding to individuals for vehicles and equipment in 16 cities through 43 branches within the country.

About European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a development finance institution headquartered in London. The bank began operations in 1991 upon the agreement of 40 countries and is now owned by 61 countries as well as the European Investment Bank and the European Union. It aims to finance operations that are both commercially viable and assist development in 29 countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and more recently in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region. It does this by providing loans, debt securities, equity investments, guarantees and technical assistance to micro- and small businesses via commercial banks and non-bank microfinance institutions (MFIs). In 2011, EBRD disbursed a total of EUR 6.7 billion (USD 8.3 billion), of which EUR 720 million (USD 939 million) formed part of their Microfinance Portfolio, which provides funding to micro- and small enterprises across 20 countries of operations [2].

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] European Bank for Reconstruction and Development: “Albania’s Credins Leasing gets €1.5 million for small businesses”, by Svitlana Pyrkalo, http://www.ebrd.com/english/pages/news/press/2012/120911.shtml

[2] MicroCapital.org story, August 6, 2012: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Extends Credit Line to Turkey’s Vakiflar Bankasi (Vakifbank) Worth $25m,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-european-bank-for-reconst

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Credins Bank
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Credins+Bank

MicroCapital Universe Profile: EBRD
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=European+Bank+for+Reconstruction+and+Development+%28EBRD%29

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