MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Loans $10m to Bank Respublika to Support Women, Youth, Entrepreneurs Struggling with COVID-19 Pandemic in Azerbaijan

Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a Dutch public-private partnership, recently loaned the equivalent of USD 10 million in local currency as a senior term loan to Bank Respublika, a commercial institution in Azerbaijan. The funds are intended to reduce inequality via on-lending to people that fit into one or more of the following categories: women, youth, microentrepreneurs and those active in agriculture.

Founded in 1992, Bank Respublika offers services such as loans, deposits, payment cards, transfers, digital banking and safe deposit boxes via 24 branches. As of December 2020, its total assets amounted to AZN 954 million (USD 561 million).

Established in 1970, FMO is 51-percent held by the Dutch government and 49-percent by private investors. The institution works towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by funding capacity development and placing debt and equity investments in sectors such as agribusiness, financial institutions and energy. During the year ending December 2020, FMO lost EUR 205 million (USD 245 million) on a total portfolio of EUR 12 billion (USD 14.3 billion).

By Teo Lin-Bianco, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

FMO transaction overview
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/1c4bbda5-12fc-4999-a883-c845ea191291/monthly-transaction-overview-may

Bank Respublika homepage
https://www.bankrespublika.az/

Bank Respublika financial report 2020
https://www.bankrespublika.az/uploads/Hesabatlar/BR%20Annual%20Report%202020.pdf

Previous MicroCapital article on FMO
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-northern-arc-borrows-25m-from-fmo-to-fund-institutions-serving-women-msmes-in-india/

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