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Blagoveschensk, Russia, November 12, 2012
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing Asian-Pacific Bank with a $30 million subordinated loan to strengthen the bank’s capital base and expand access to finance for small and medium companies in Russia.
The IFC financing will help the bank significantly expand operations in the Far East and Siberia. Through its extensive network of 250 branches, Asian-Pacific Bank covers 18 regions of Russia, including nine frontier regions, and serves over 600,000 clients.
“Our long-standing partnership with IFC has been important to getting us to where we are today, and will continue to play a major role in our growth going forward,” said Evgeny Aksenov, Chairman of the Executive Board of Asian-Pacific Bank. “This is an important recognition of the financial strength and stability of our business, as well as the significant opportunities we have to expand lending to our core customers in the Far East and Siberia.”
Tomasz Telma, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia, said, “Promoting economic development and diversification of remote and frontier regions is our priority in Russia. As a long-term partner and shareholder of Asian-Pacific Bank, we support the bank’s strategy to further expand operations in the regions it serves and thus broaden access to much needed finance for local businesses.”
This investment builds on IFC’s relationship with the bank, which began in 2008. It is part of IFC’s strategy in Russia to support private sector development and encourage economic growth. The country became a member and shareholder of IFC in 1993. Since then, IFC has invested $10.1 billion in Russia, including $3.2 billion in syndicated loans, and is involved in 270 projects across a variety of sectors. IFC’s investment portfolio in Russia stands at $2.26 billion, the fourth-largest country exposure for IFC globally.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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About Asian-Pacific Bank
Asian-Pacific Bank is the largest private regional Russian bank in the Far East and Siberia. The bank is rated B2 long-term local and foreign-currency deposit rating by Moody’s and ranks 61
st
by equity among Russian banks and 65
th
by assets, which are $2.5 billion. The bank's ownership structure is transparent and diversified with PPFIN Region holding 66.6 percent stake, East Capital (Sweden) holding 17.9 percent, and IFC holding 7 percent. For more information about Asian-Pacific Bank, visit
http://www.atb.su
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