The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral investor, recently agreed to loan EUR 2 million (USD 2.18 million) to NLB Banka Podgorica, a Montenegro-based bank named for its Slovenian affiliate Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB). As part of EBRD’s Women in Business Programme, the loan is to be used to support
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MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Commits $1.1b as “First Step” in Response to Coronavirus; Targets Include SMEs, Women-owned businesses
The UK-based multilateral European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently allocated EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) to provide “immediate support” as a “first step” to addressing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The targets include boosting trade finance, particularly as it can assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and providing crisis-management advice to SMEs, especially those led by women. For borrowers experiencing difficulty with repayment, EBRD will
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Lending $8.5m to Minsk Transit Bank (MTBank) for Microfinance, SME Finance in Belarus
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is lending BYB 20 million (USD 8.5 million) to Minsk Transit Bank (MTBank), Belarus’s “largest independent private bank,” for on-lending to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The loan is denominated in local-currency to off-load the foreign-exchange risk that Belarusian businesses often take on when borrowing from foreign banks. The funding will also increase the time
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $5.6m to Sparkasse Bank Makedonija for Housing, Energy-efficiency in North Macedonia
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently issued two loans to Sparkasse Bank Makedonija, a unit of Austrian savings bank Steiermärkische Sparkasse, to promote investment in privately owned buildings in North Macedonia. The larger loan is in the amount of EUR 3 million (USD 3.4 million) and is to be used for
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, Green Climate Fund Lend $21.6m to Crédit du Maroc for SMEs in Morocco to Improve Energy Efficiency, Value Chains
Crédit du Maroc, the local member of the France-based Crédit Agricole Group, recently gained access to loan funding of up to EUR 20 million (USD 21.6 million) from the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to on-lend to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco. EBRD sourced
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $16m to Banco Sabadell Casablanca to Increase Lending to SMEs in Morocco
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently issued a loan of MAD 165 million (USD 16 million) to the local unit of Spain-based Banco Sabadell SA to increase the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco. Founded in 2009, Banco Sabadell Casablanca is primarily involved in Morocco’s SME market. The entity earned a profit of EUR 1.2 million (USD 1.4 million) during 2018. As of June 2019, it held total assets of MAD 1.1 billion (USD 110 million).
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Issues $20m Credit Line to Ipoteka Bank of Uzbekistan to Increase Microfinance, SME Lending
Micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Uzbekistan are due to gain increased access to financing via a loan in the amount of EUR 18 million (USD 20 million) provided by the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Uzbekistan’s Ipoteka Bank.
MICROFINANCE PAPER WRAP-UP: “Gender Discrimination in Small Business Lending. Evidence from a Lab-in-the-field Experiment in Turkey,” published by EBRD
By J Michelle Brock and Ralph De Haas, published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, September 2019, 45 pages, available at https://www.ebrd.com/documents/oce/gender-discrimination-in-small-business-lending-evidence-from-a-lab-in-the-field-experiment-in-turkey.pdf
This experiment involved presenting 334 loan officers in Turkey with eight actual loan applications. Each loan officer was asked to decide whether to accept or deny the application, as well as whether the loan applicant would be required to seek a guarantor
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EU Commit $132m to EU4Business Initiative for Financing SMEs via OTP Bank Ukraine, ProCredit Bank Ukraine, Raiffeisen Bank Aval
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU recently committed EUR 120 million (USD 132 million) to implement the EU4Business Initiative in Ukraine. Through the program, EBRD will provide local banks with
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Expands “Women in Business” Programme to Montenegro, Microfinance Institution Alter Modus is First Lender to Participate
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, is expanding its Women in Business (WiB) programme to Montenegro. The WiB Montenegro programme, which is supported by
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Erste Bank Serbia Opens $45m Credit Line from EBRD to Increase Financing to SMEs
The UK-headquartered European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently issued a loan to the Serbian unit of Austria-based Erste Group Bank in the amount of EUR 40 million (USD 45 million) with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia. As of year-end 2018
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD, EU Launch Support for SMEs in Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the EU recently announced the launch of a program under Horizon 2020, a research and innovation effort of the EU. The new program’s budget of EUR 20 million (USD 22.5 million) is expected to reach 200 enterprises in Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania. Elements of the program are limited to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are defined as having fewer than 250 employees and annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million (USD 57 million), while others are also open to mid-caps,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Sells 9% Equity Stake in Mobiasbanca of Moldova for $2.9m as Societe Generale Sells Majority Stake to OTP
A shareholder in Mobiasbanca since 2008, the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently exited its holding in Moldova’s Mobiasbanca. EBRD sold this 8.84-percent stake to
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD to Lend $5.7m to Banka per Biznes (BPB) for On-Lending to SMEs in Kosovo
Under its “Kosovo SME Competitiveness Support Programme,” the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) recently agreed to provide a loan of EUR 5 million (USD 5.7 million) to Banka per Biznes (BPB) of
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD Loans $2.3m to Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KrK) for Onlending to MSMEs in Kosovo
The UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Kreditimi Rural i Kosoves (KrK), a Kosovar microfinance institution,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: EBRD’s “Trade Ready” Program to Bring Finance, Business Advice to SMEs in Serbia
With funding from the EU and the government Luxembourg, the UK-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching Trade Ready, a program intended to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Serbia become
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Société Générale de Banque au Liban to Borrow $50m from EBRD for On-lending to Small, Medium-Sized Enterprises in Lebanon
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a UK-based multilateral institution, recently agreed to loan Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL), a Lebanese bank, USD 50 million to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas and another USD 50 million for firms involved in importing and exporting. The latter allocation falls under EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP), which was launched in 1999 and is intended to promote trade among Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Central and Western Asia. As of 2018, TFP engages approximately 100 issuing banks in 28 economies, with total approved financing limits exceeding EUR 1.5 billion (USD 1.8 billion). TFP also works with approximately 800
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)