MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Mulling $17m Loan to Belinvestbank of Belarus for On-lending to Micro-, Small, Medium-sized Enterprises

The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering assembling a loan of up to EUR 50 million (USD 58.2 million) for Belinvestbank, a bank in Belarus, for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The loan would include at least EUR 15 million (USD 17.4 million) from EBRD and up to EUR 35 million (USD 40.7 million) to be solicited by EBRD from other financial institutions.

The loan package would be consistent with a memorandum of understanding that EBRD and Belinvestbank signed in 2015 regarding plans for Belinvestbank, which is 99-percent government-owned, to privatize. The bank, which is a member of the Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction (BBDR), holds total assets of BYN 3.9 billion (USD 1.8 billion), deposits of BYN 675 million (USD 316.3 million) and serves approximately 500,000 customers from 125 branches as of 2017. BBDR was founded in 1992 and merged with Belbusinessbank in 2001. BBDR, which is also owned by the Belarusian government, reported total assets of BYN 5.3 billion (USD 2.5 billion) as of 2016.

EBRD, which began operations in 1991, is a multilateral institution headquartered in London. It is owned by 65 countries as well as the European Investment Bank and the European Union. The organization seeks to finance operations that are both commercially viable and assist development in Central and Western Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa by providing loans, debt securities, equity investments, guarantees and technical assistance to micro- and small businesses via commercial banks and non-bank microfinance institutions. During 2017, EBRD invested EUR 9.7 billion (USD 11.3 billion) in projects spanning 67 countries countries, and as of December of that year it reported total assets of EUR 56.2 billion (USD 65.7 billion).

By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate

Source and Additional Resources

EBRD project document
https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/projects/psd/belinvestbank-msme-ab-loan.html

Belinvestbank homepage
https://www.belinvestbank.by

Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction
https://brrb.by/en/about/annual-reports/AR%202016.pdf

Bloomberg profile on Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=26492374

Corporate Finance Institute on Belarusian banks
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/companies/top-banks-in-belarus/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Lend $20m to Uzbekistan’s Hamkorbank to Support SMEs https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-lend-20m-uzbekistans-hamkorbank-support-smes/

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