OREANDA-NEWS.  The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is providing a EUR 20 million loan to the Russian Center-Invest Bank.  The five year loan will facilitate access to finance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Southern Russia, a priority area under the BSTDB country strategy for Russia.
 
“Supporting the development of the real economy sector is one of the BSTDB’s key priorities, particularly in the current challenging environment, where access to funding is limited. This loan will help raise the competitiveness of SMEs, while also providing a boost to the banking sector in Southern Russia”, said Mustafa Boran, BSTDB Vice President Banking.
 
Borrowed funds from our reliable partner – Black Sea Trade and Development Bank - will allow us to offer  favorable terms for regional companies to expand their production , modernization of agriculture equipment and reconstruction of agriculture machinery and reconstruction of production facilities”,  said Mr. Sergey Smirnov, Deputy Head of Corporate Lending department of Center-invest Bank.
 
The loan builds up on the successful cooperation between BSTDB and the Center-Invest Bank, launched in 2007.