The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based development finance institution, recently partnered with Raiffeisen Bank Albania on a risk-sharing facility of EUR 50 million (USD 59.2 million). This will allow Raiffeisen Bank Albania to increase its lending to firms of all sizes, with an unspecified portion to be directed to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Another aim of the agreement is to help Raiffeisen Bank Albania boost its “portfolio’s risk management, risk diversification and capacity to manage more sophisticated risk profiles.”
Raiffeisen Bank Albania is a subsidiary of Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which is active in 28 countries in Europe and Asia. Raiffeisen Bank Albania supports the country’s agribusiness sector as a partner of the Albanian Agribusiness Support Facility (AASF), which was founded by EBRD and the Albanian government in 2016. As of June 2020, RBI reports total assets of EUR 164 billion (USD 194 billion), 0.72 percent return on assets before tax and 8.4 percent return on equity before tax.
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 SMEs and microenterprises. EBRD planned disbursements of approximately EUR 8 billion (USD 8.6 billion) during 2020 to grow its portfolio to EUR 48.5 billion (USD 52.4 billion). EBRD’s shareholders comprise 69 countries plus the EU and the European Investment Bank.
By Romil Pandey, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
EBRD press release
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-to-boost-raiffeisen-bank-albanias-lending-capacity.html
EBRD homepage
https://www.ebrd.com
Raiffeisen Bank Albania homepage
https://www.raiffeisen.al
RBI homepage
https://www.rbinternational.com
AASF homepage
https://aasf.com.al/
Past EBRD press release on Albania
https://www.ebrd.com/news/2019/expanding-finance-for-albanian-agribusiness-.html
RBI June 2020 financial report
https://www.rbinternational.com/de/investoren/berichte/quartalsberichte.html
Past MicroCapital News on EBRD
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-ebrd-lends-47m-to-caixabank-to-support-smes-in-morocco-amidst-coronavirus-pandemic/
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