MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sanad, Bankmed Partner to Support Small, Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon

The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) (Sanad), a Luxembourg-based organization that provides “medium- and long-term”[1] debt and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa region, has recently announced the disbursement of a loan of USD 15 million to Bankmed, a Lebanese commercial bank regulated by the Central Bank of Lebanon. The aim of the loan is to support the expansion of Bankmed’s lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Lebanon.

In Lebanon, SMEs make up the majority of business ventures. Bankmed intends to use the loan to increase its lending services in this segment, as the organization has identified the segment as needing “additional banking penetration”[1].

As of March 2015, Sanad had total investor commitments of USD 128.8 million, with USD 164.6 million in approved debt investments since its inception in 2011. As of 2014, Bankmed had total assets of approximately LBP 23 billion (USD 15 million), and approximately LBP 7 billion (USD 5 million) in loans and advances to customers.

By Mathew Cerf, Research Associate

About Sanad Fund for MSME

The Sanad Fund for MSME (micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise) is a private-public partnership that provides “medium- and long-term” loan and equity to financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa with the intent of strengthening MSMEs as well as local financial markets. It is an initiative of the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), and it is funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, which is known by its German acronym BMZ. Sanad was founded in 2011 and it is domiciled in Luxembourg. It focuses on Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Tunisia and Yemen with an emphasis on Egypt and Tunisia. As of March 2015, Sanad had total investor commitments of USD 128.8 million, with USD 164.6 million in approved debt investments since its inception in 2011.

About Bankmed

Bankmed is a Lebanese regional financial services group that was established in 1944. As of 2014, the organization operated 61 branches in Lebanon, as well as one branch in Cyprus, three in Iraq, and one in the United Arab Emirates. As of the same year, Bankmed also had operations in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Turkey though its private banking, commercial banking, and investment banking arms. Bankmed had total assets of approximately LBP 23 billion (USD 15 million), and approximately LBP 7 billion (USD 5 million) in loans and advances to customers as of 2014.

[1] SANAD-Bankmed Press Release, “SANAD and Bankmed Partner to Support SMEs in Lebanon,” http://sentpressrelease.com/pressrelease/attachment/143640/f25cb501-4b1a-4e4b-8d8a-9e93cfc8f680/e72cd1b5-3b24-48c2-9d95-f657545d9d88

[2] Bankmed, “2014 Financial Report,” http://www.bankmed.com.lb/Publications/FinancialReports.aspx

[3] MicroCapital Universe Profile, “SANAD Fund for MSME,” https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=SANAD+Fund+for+MSME+%28SANAD%29

[4] MicroCapital Universe Profile, “Bankmed,” https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bankmed

 

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