Washington D.C, September 24, 2002
—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector development arm of the World Bank, continues its support for the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Moldova with a credit line of US$1.5 million to a local bank, Banca De Finante Si Comert (Fincombank) S.A,
for onlending to SMEs.
Fincombank is receiving substantial technical assistance from
the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its SME trust fund at IFC.
This assistance is aimed at strengthening Fincombank’s banking skills and term lending expertise. Fincombank is privately owned and regarded as a well-managed financial institution.
Mr. Khosrow Zamani, IFC’s Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia, said: “The investment fits in with IFC’s strategy of supporting Moldovan SMEs through similar financial intermediaries. The credit line and the technical assistance will help Fincombank increase its support for small and medium-sized Moldovan businesses. A strong and vibrant SME sector is critical to Moldova’s economic development.”
IFC has played an active role in Moldova since the country became a member in 1995. Since then, IFC has approved financing for investments in telecommunications, agribusiness, electricity generation, banking and financial services, as well as technical assistance projects in banking, tourism, wineries, food processing, and leather industries. In banking, IFC provided a $3.0 million credit line to Moldinconbank, as well as a $4.0 million credit line to Victoriabank, both for onlending to Moldovan small and medium-sized enterprises.
Fincombank was established in 1993 as one of Moldova’s first commercial banks. Today, Fincombank provides a range of corporate banking services to leading Moldovan companies and international clients through its 20 branch offices (six in Chisinau). Fincombank has over 100 shareholders, 166 employees and over 9,600 clients.
“Through this investment, we hope to help Moldova in its efforts to create sustainable banks and creditworthy private enterprises,” Mr. Zamani also said.
IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. Since its founding in 1956 through the close of the last fiscal year on June 30, 2002, IFC committed more than $34 billion of its own funds and arranged $21 billion in syndications for 2,825 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s committed portfolio at the end of FY02 was $15.1 billion for our own account and $6.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
