On February 27, 2014 Belgazprombank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed the loan agreement on arranging of EUR 30 million five-year two-tier syndicated loan.
The syndicated loan included an A loan of EUR 10 million provided by the EBRD and a B loan of EUR 20 million to come from other participants including The European Fund for Southeast Europe (EFSE), the world’s largest micro-financing financial institution. The loan proceeds will be used to provide support and assist to the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.
- We are pleased with the development of cooperation between EBRD and Belgazprombank, - pointed out Francis Delaey, Head of EBRD Representative Office in Minsk, during the solemn signing ceremony. – I think this agreement is a positive moment for Belarus given that it has been a long time since a similar syndicated transaction was concluded, and this is a good example for other market participants.
- This is the first five-year syndicated loan provided to a Belarusian borrower, - emphasized Sergey Shaban, Deputy Chairman, Belgazprombank, - and such long tenor makes it unique. Previously the tenors of public borrowings by Belarusian banks were limited to one year. The involvement of the reputable international financial institutions will provide our bank with a unique state-of-the-art experience in execution of international capital market transactions and contribute significantly to the bank’s credit history, which is a prerequisite for further development of public borrowings. The proceeds received will be used to increase the financial support of the target client segment of small and medium companies, and thus will contribute to the achievement of one of bank’s strategic objectives of supporting the sustainable development of the country’s economy. After all, developed economies have proved repeatedly that social and economic development of any economy is driven by the developed and steadily functioning SME segment.
Belgazprombank has been participating in capital markets since 2005 and has become one of the first Belarusian banks that attracted funding through a syndicated loan. Further diversification of the funding base is considered one of the main objectives of the bank.
The financial institutions started mutually beneficial cooperation in 1996, and at the moment Belgazprombank is one of the main partners of EBRD in the Republic of Belarus. Belgazprombank is the first and only bank in Belarus that has received a loan denominated in national currency from EBRD, and was among the first banks to join the EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Program and Belarus Sustainable Energy Finance Facility (BelSEFF). The total amount of credit lines made available by EBRD to Belgazprombank under joint projects in the process of implementation reached USD 145 million.
Belgazprombank, established in 1990 and controlled by Russia’s Gazprom Group, occupies a leading position in lending to the Belarusian private sector, particularly to small and medium enterprises.