OREANDA-NEWS. March 2, 2011. Perm’s regional administration estimates that more than 100,000 small businesses are operating locally and that every fourth job holder is employed in the SB sector. Thanks to Uniastrum Bank’s working relationship with the Fund, the region’s small and medium enterprises now have a greater chance of obtaining a loan.

By taking advantage of a Fund guarantee, enterprises lacking sufficient liquid collateral can secure the loan amount they require from Uniastrum Bank. The Fund is able to guarantee up to 50% of any loan commitment undertaken. Uniastrum Fund-supported credit is available to SME registered and operating in the Perm region. Under the scheme, potential borrower enterprises must have been working for a minimum of 3 months, be current on taxes and other budget payments, and be able to lodge collateral equal to at least 50% of the loan quantum.

2010 witnessed a resurgence in retail and corporate-side loan demand in the Perm region. Over the year Uniastrum’s local branch issued Rb 530 mn to businesses, including more than Rb 100 mn to SME, with some 170 enterprises and sole proprietors joining the Bank as new customers. Uniastrum’s active efforts to encourage small enterprise borrowing and the small business community’s heightened interest in the Bank’s lending schemes in H210 resulted in a 25% increase in the branch’s SME credit portfolio, which weighed in at Rb 137.2 mn as of January 1, 2011.

“In 2010 Uniastrum Bank lending to small business more than doubled on the previous year,” notes Svetlana Chubakova, Uniastrum’s Vice President for Small Business Development. “We are heavily focused on this developing this segment outside the capital, as is shown by our collaborative efforts with SB assistance funds in 26 of the country’s regions.”