OREANDA-NEWS. May 31, 2011. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is investing USD 75 million in Orient Express Bank to support the Russian bank’s efforts to develop new areas of business and consolidate small and medium banks operating in remote and frontier regions of Russia.

 “This investment from IFC is a sign of our bank’s solid strategy and its commitment to further growth,” said Sergey Vlasov, Chairman of Orient Express Bank’s Management Board. “IFC’s finance and international expertise will add momentum to our growth and help us develop and expand new, modern financial products for our clients.”??

With this investment IFC will also help the bank expand its lending program to small and micro businesses, including energy efficiency finance products.

“By supporting this systemically important bank operating in Russia’s less-developed regions, we demonstrate our role as a development institution,” said Snezana Stoiljkovic, IFC Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Orient Express Bank operates in frontier regions of the country, where access to finance is critically important for people and businesses, and we believe in the bank’s long-term perspectives and business strategy.”