20 Aug 2024 13:52

Ukraine's OTP Bank gets second USAID $2.76 mln grant to fund MSMEs

MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Kiev-based OTP Bank has received its second grant of $2.76 million from the USAID Investment for Business Resilience Activity project to expand financial access for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Ukrainian media said, citing the bank's website.

"More than 100 companies have already been financed under this program during the first phase. This new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million, which will cover a portion of the interest rates for the enterprises," OTP Bank said.

The grant program will enable OTP Bank to lend to businesses at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement, while the grant funds will cover the difference between the client and market interest rates, it said.

From the second year onward, customers will pay interest on the loan at a rate of UIRD3m+5% per annum.

MSMEs with annual revenue of up to 50 million euros and a staff of up to 250 people that fall into one of the target groups - relocated businesses and businesses affected by the crisis, companies operating in critical sectors of the economy and companies co-owned by women - will be eligible for concessional financing from OTP Bank.

The maximum loan that a company or a group of companies can receive under the program is 20 million hryvni, while the minimum loan is 1 million hryvni.

"The grant program also covers factoring agreements, under which the bank's clients can receive financing of up to 90% of a supply agreement value ranging from 2 million to 20 million hryvni. Farmers will enjoy special terms and conditions if they use funds received under the grant program to acquire products from OTP Agro Factory partners," the bank said.

OTP Bank supported more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises during the program's first phase, which started in 2023, it said.

According to National Bank of Ukraine data, OTP Bank ranked 11th by total assets (114.55 billion hryvni) among Ukraine's 62 operating banks as of July 1, 2024. OTP Bank posted net profit of 3.71 billion hryvni in 2023.