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Yerevan, Armenia, December 10, 2015
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $20 million loan to Armenian Inecobank to support its acquisition of ProCredit Bank Armenia, promoting the first market-driven consolidation in Armenia’s banking sector and boosting access to finance for small and medium enterprises.
“Inecobank is one of the market leaders in the SME and consumer lending segments in Armenia,” said Taron Ganjalyan, the Chief Executive Officer of Inecobank. “This new financing will help us further develop SME lending and contribute to the sustainable development of Armenia’s private sector.”
The loan will allow Inecobank, a long-term equity and debt partner of IFC, to refinance ProCredit’s existing liabilities and extend its SME portfolio, helping it become Armenia’s leader in SME lending. The financing package is a joint effort with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, who will invest $20 million in equity.
“Small and medium businesses are one of the main sources of employment and income in the developing world,” said
Jan Van Bilsen, Regional Manager for Caucasus,
IFC. “By supporting strong Armenian banks we hope to expand access to finance to this important segment of the Armenian economy and contribute to economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.”
IFC has a range of advisory and investment services to help banks build capacity in SME finance. In 2014, IFC client banks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia provided more than 5.7 million loans to micro, small, and medium enterprises, totaling $81 billion.
About Inecobank
Established in 1996, Inecobank is one of the leading banks in Armenia, focused on Retail, Micro and SME segments. Its goal is to become the premier provider of simple and efficient banking services to retail, micro and SME customers in the developing countries. As of 2015 3Q Inecobank is the market leader in Armenia by ROA and ROE indicators. Total assets of the bank equaled to 158bln. AMD, and the gross loan portfolio has reached 103bln. AMD as of 2015 3Q.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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