MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Ameriabank Borrows $11.5m from Symbiotics for On-lending to Microenterprises, SMEs in Armenia

Ameriabank, the primary member of Armenia’s Ameria Group, recently accepted a senior loan of USD 11.5 million from Switzerland-based Symbiotics. Ameriabank CEO Artak Hanesyan explained that the funding is “aimed at micro and SME [small and medium-sized enterprise] financing, which is a strategic priority for Ameriabank.” Symbiotics sourced the loan from its MSME bond platform.

Ameriabank has 16 branches and reports 2016 profit of AMD 6.2 billion (USD 13 million) on year-end assets of AMD 719 billion (USD 1.5 billion).

Symbiotics provides for-profit investment intermediary and business services to investors in and practitioners of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) development. As of 2018, Symbiotics finances 1.8 million small businesses and low- and middle-income households in 68 countries via 252 partner institutions. As of 2016, it reported a direct investment portfolio of USD 1.3 billion. The company also offers Syminvest, a microfinance investment information platform.

Sources and additional resources

Ameriabank press release
http://www.ameriabank.am/PressContent.aspx?id=6149&subcat=226&mt=image/jpeg&lang=28

Ameriabank Annual Report 2016
http://ameriabank.am/IR/docs/default-source/annual-reports/annual_report_2016_eng.pdf?sfvrsn=6

Ameria Group
http://ameriagroup.am/

Symbiotics 2016 Annual Report
https://symbioticsgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/AR_2016_webversion.pdf

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