OREANDA-NEWS. October 09, 2009. This is the conclusion the experts of Uniastrum Bank made after analyzing the loan portfolio of the borrowers which accept funding in the framework of a special industry-related program “Medical services”, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum Bank.

General Director of “Apteka 1” Yulia Sharkova said: “We had just started modernizing our pharmacy when the crisis broke out. So we found it difficult to get funding to make our plans come true. We contacted several banks, but in vain. Only Uniastrum Bank responded. Now that we have been given the loan, we are actively expanding our sales areas, and in about one year we will be able to open a new optical store. Thanks to Uniastrum Bank our investment goals have become achievable. We are very thankful to the Bank and its employees for the constructive cooperation. We are a socially-oriented and useful business, and the Bank gives us the opportunity of developing this business so that the services we offer could be even more widely available. We sincerely hope for future mutually profitable cooperation with Uniastrum Bank”.

General Director of “Leyko” LLC (the company is engaged in production of medical goods) Garnik Aleksanyan said: “I am a long-term customer of Uniastrum Bank. What I like best in cooperation with the Bank is very attractive lending conditions and a high level of professionalism of the employees. I used my first loan taken from Uniastrum Bank to open my own cotton wool factory. My second loan helped me increase the business turnover immediately by more than 40% and my business profit as well. I utilized a part of my loan to purchase equipment and the other part, to buy materials. I was given the opportunity of buying expensive equipment, and my business started growing. I am more than satisfied with my cooperation with Uniastrum Bank”.

Experts of Uniastrum Bank state that medical services are one of the priority industries in small business. Taking this fact into account the Bank has developed a special product for those involved in this sector. People engaged in this business who wish to purchase equipment may take a loan secured by the equipment to be purchased, or use a special leasing program offered by Uniastrum Bank. Should the purpose of the loan be replenishment of the working capital, equipment repairs and other current business needs, the client may take a loan or a credit line under any type of security: vehicles, real estate, collateral offered by third parties.

The main lending conditions of the program are as follows:
Working capital loan period: up to 2 years, investment loan period: up to 5 years;
Loan amount from Rb 500,000 to 20,000,000;
Respite up to 6 months is possible;
Flexible approach to security, namely: the property to be purchased (equipment, real estate), pledge by third parties, guarantee by the SME Lending Assistance Fund (up to 50% of the loan amount can be accepted as collateral);
Loan application examination period of up to 5 business days, with possible completion of the on-line questionnaire on the bank’s web site.

We are also ready to offer to small businesses a very relevant product “U-Prime”. The key distinctive features of the program are its “recession-fighting” price of 17.7% p.a. to be calculated proceeding from the minimum interest rate, as well as the possibility of getting long-term loans. Considering the fact that loan repayments are calculated on the annuity basis (equal monthly installments), the actual cost of the loan will be 10.7%, and with all the fees it will be 13.4%. Thus, for example, a client will pay Rb 134,000 for a loan of Rb 1,000,000.

According to information supplied by RosBusinessConsulting, Uniastrum Bank is ranked one of the leaders among the Russian banks in loan amounts granted to SMEs in H109. During the first six months of 2009 the amount of Rb 10.2 bln. was issued to SMEs, and the total SME loan book grew by 14% to reach Rb 24.8 bln. (considering the repayments of earlier issued loans).

The SME loan portfolio of Uniastrum Bank increased by 2 times in one year (H208 – H109) and reached Rb 2.1 bln. as of 01.06.2009. The experts of Uniastrum Bank observed an increasing trend in SME loan issues. Only during the three summer months of 2009 Uniastrum Bank issued to small businesses loans in excess of Rb 1 bln., and as of 01.09.2009 the loan portfolio amounted to Rb 2.8 bln.