OREANDA-NEWS. December 14, 2007. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and its partners—the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Commerzbank AG, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW), Nederlanse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. (FMO), ShoreBank International Ltd., Shorecap International Ltd., and Swedfund—have signed an agreement to launch the Belarusian Bank for Small Business, which will broaden access to finance for private entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises in Belarus, IFC's press service reports.

Today, the eight partners agreed to invest ?7 million in the new bank, which is expected to start operating in mid-2008. Several shareholders have also agreed to provide debt financing.

The Belarusian Bank for Small Business will operate as a closed joint stock company with a full banking license. ShoreBank International, one of the founders, will act as the bank’s technical partner and management company. The new bank will offer loans ranging from ?100 to ?200,000 with maturities of up to 4 years.  It will concentrate on loans below ?10,000.

IFC will provide up to ?1.4 million equivalent in equity, to be followed by a senior loan of up to ?5 million.  In addition, to support the bank’s start-up and initial phase of operations, IFC will provide about $1 million in funding for advisory services.

Additional donor funds will be provided by Austria, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, and the European Union.

IFC in Belarus
Belarus became a member of IFC in November 1992. At the invitation of the country’s government, IFC has been involved in advisory work in Belarus since 1993. To date, IFC has implemented a range of advisory projects and has invested about $110 million in the country’s financial, agribusiness, and retail sectors.