EBRD to organize $20-mln syndicated loan for Azerbaijan's AccessBank to expand lending to SMEs

BAKU. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to organize a syndicated loan for Azerbaijan's AccessBank totaling $20 million in order to expand lending to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), the EBRD said in a statement.

The EBRD said that the syndicated loan would include $10 million in funds from the EBRD and an additional $10 million in funds from other syndicate participants. Moreover, the EBRD would also fully cover this part of the loan should it not be possible to attract funds from other sources.

The EBRD intends to provide the loan funds in the local currency, manat, for a three-year period. Providing the loan funds should expand access to said funds for MSMEs in Azerbaijan, according to the EBRD.

AccessBank has been operating in Azerbaijan since 2002, and it is the country's seventh largest bank in terms of assets. The bank focuses on lending to MSMEs in Azerbaijan. All of the bank's stakeholders are foreign banks and financial institutions. The largest stakeholders are the Asian Development Bank with 20.33%, the European Investment Bank with 17.76%, and the International Finance Corporation with 15.86%.