OREANDA-NEWS. From November 1 through January 31, 2010, the Bank is marking the festive season with a special promo offer called “Pay just the Interest over the New Year Holidays”. Any client granted a loan under Uniastrum’s small business lending program with funds paid into his or her account will be able to defer repayment of the principal amount for 3 months, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum.

The promotional offer is open to any small or midsized business that has applied for credit to Uniastrum Bank. Once authorized, borrowers have up to 2 months to access the loan facility.

Uniastrum’s most popular SME credit product is currently its U-Prime option, whose key features and benefits include:

A spending limit of Rb 5m – Rb 50 mn

Interest rates starting from 17.7% APR for ruble-denominated loans and from 14% for those in dollars and euros

Collateral: real estate

Loan term: up to 10 years

Activation fee: 2,7% of the spending limit

Once submitted, a loan application can be processed within 5 days; applications can be submitted on the Bank’s website at http://www.uniastrum.ru/ru/juridical/crediting/form/.

Data released by RosBusinessConsulting show that, based on H109 results, Uniastrum ranks among Russia’s biggest SME lender. In 9M09, the Bank’s corporate lending portfolio expanded 31% to Rb 28.6 bn, of which Rb 10.2 bn were given out to small and midsized businesses.

Uniastrum kicked off 2009 with the launch of new products specially catering to the needs of small and midsized enterprises such as, among others, convenience stores, semifinished manufacturers, and producers and sellers of healthcare equipment. Small businesses everywhere have wasted little time in taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the Bank’s U-Prime loan program.

“Uniastrum is very much a customer-focused bank,” notes Viktor Okopny, head of Uniastrum’s SB Lending Division. “Mindful of the downturn in business activity every January and early February, as well as the pullback in companies’ revenues during that time, we are ready to defer payment on the principal loan amount for 3 months until our clients’ businesses get back on the growth track. Our credit products are specially devised to fit the real needs of small businesses and feature a whole range of tangible benefits. As the record shows, Uniastrum Bank loan programs are flexible and up-to-the-minute, easy to access, and crafted for the borrower’s convenience.”