The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral investor, recently agreed to provide a four-year loan in local currency equivalent to USD 8.1 million to Bank Lviv, a commercial bank in Ukraine, for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Ashot Abrahamyan, the CEO of Bank Lviv, explains that his institution is “committed to continue providing financing to SMEs, especially to agricultural producers.”
The loan is a part of: (1) the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) among the EU, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine; and (2) the EU4Business Initiative, through which EBRD provides advisory services, financing and training to SMEs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Established in 1990, Bank Lviv provides deposit, lending, insurance and payment-card services. It is based in the city of Lviv and has 22 branches. As of December 2018, Bank Lviv reported total assets of USD 89 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 40 million and customer deposits of USD 51 million.
Founded in 1991, EBRD seeks to support a “transition to open, market economies, whilst fostering sustainable and inclusive growth” in 38 countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and North Africa. It does this by providing business advice, supporting trade finance, and investing debt and equity in funders of microenterprise and SMEs. With a focus on “the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative,” the bank plans to disburse about EUR 8 billion (USD 8.6 billion) during 2020 to grow its portfolio to about EUR 48.5 billion (USD 52.4 billion). EBRD’s shareholders comprise 69 countries plus the European Union.
By Simrun Kothari, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/western-ukrainian-businesses-receive-new-funds-from-ebrd-and-eu-.html
Bank Aviv homepage
https://www.banklviv.com
Bank Aviv 2018 financials
https://www.banklviv.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FS_Lviv_en_2018-final.pdf
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $2.2m to NLB Banka Podgorica for Women-led SMEs in Montenegro:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-loans-2-2m-to-nlb-banka-podgorica-for-women-led-smes-in-montenegro/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Liberty Bank of Georgia Borrows $17m for SME Finance from EIB Under EU4Business Initiative:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-liberty-bank-of-georgia-borrows-17m-for-sme-finance-from-eib-under-eu4business-initiative/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: responsAbility-managed Private Equity Vehicle Acquires 51% Stake in Bank Lviv, Lender to SMEs, Agricultural Firms in the Ukraine:
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-responsability-managed-private-equity-vehicle-acquires-51-stake-in-bank-lviv-lender-to-smes-agricultural-firms-in-the-ukraine/
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