OREANDA-NEWS. June 1, 2012. The Russian Bank for Small and Medium Enterprise Support has granted Uniastrum a Rb 750 mn special-purpose loan to be used for a new credit product, “FIM Targeted”, repayable over a 5-year period

In line with the agreement between the two banks, Uniastrum is to allocate the borrowed funds to financing small and midsized businesses engaged in pioneering, upgrade and energy-efficient projects. Those enterprises meeting SME Bank’s qualification criteria will pay interest on their loans of up to 12.5% APR. Thanks to the government-sponsored program to support the country’s small business community, enterprises that previously had only limited access to borrowing can now obtain credit from Uniastrum Bank at preferential rates.

One of the Russian market’s biggest SME financiers, Uniastrum has enjoyed a fruitful working relationship with the Russian Bank for Small and Medium Enterprise Support (SME Bank) since 2009. In the past year alone, Uniastrum has entered into three agreements with SME Bank under the government program, issuing over Rb 4.2 bn in loans.

In 2011 Uniastrum’s SME credit portfolio expanded 125% to over Rb 37 bn as of year-start 2012. Over the same period, loans granted to small and midsized businesses topped Rb 28 bn. Rating agencies Expert RA and RosBusinessConsulting both site the Bank among the nation’s Top-10 SME lenders, based on the size of its portfolio for this segment.

“There can be no doubt that the government program operated by SME Bank via its partner banks is helping Russia’s small and medium businesses secure the financing they require,” notes Svetlana Chubakova, Uniastrum’s Vice President for Small Business Development. “Each year SME Bank devises new products specially designed to support those regions and business sectors that desperately need to borrow if they are to make a real go of things, and we, for our part, are ready to do all we can to see that the program is a success nationwide.”