OREANDA-NEWS. August 18, 2014. OJSC Agency for Credit Guarantees and Bank Vozrozhdenie have signed an agreement on cooperation.

Ms. Galina Izotova, Chairman of the Management Board, signed the agreement on behalf of the Agency for Credit Guarantees and Mr. Alexander Dolgopolov, Chairman of the Management Board, — on behalf of Bank Vozrozhdenie.

The agreement is aimed at collaboration between the bank and the Agency to improve lending terms for small and medium enterprises. After its accreditation, Bank Vozrozhdenie will be able to expand its SME loan portfolio on the back of state guarantees of the Agency issued to the businesses.

According to the agreement terms, the Agency will issue direct guarantees and counter-guarantees on the sureties of regional guarantee organisations for the development of lending to SMEs represented by legal entities, individuals with the corresponding state registration entry and farm enterprises with annual revenues less than RUB 1 billion.

Galina Izotova emphasized that Bank Vozrozhdenie accreditation unlocks new potential for the development of small and medium business.

“In our cooperation with V.Bank, we see the future evolution of SMEs. We are ready to provide our accredited partner with the new opportunities of SMEs state guarantee support and hope to start our work in the nearest future”, commented Ms. Galina Izotova, Chairman of the Management Board of the Agency for credit guarantees.

Mr. Alexander Dolgopolov noted that being one of the leaders on SME lending market, Bank Vozrozhdenie traditionally takes part in the development and implementation of state support mechanisms. The bank’s goal is to bring all the up-to-date and efficient tools for business development to the knowledge of its customers. The bank’s employees actively participated in workshops at the stage of the Agency origination. Many suggestions of the bank aimed at the current needs of SMEs are taken into account by the Agency and will contribute to promotion and effective realization of the new state support instrument.

“The Agency’s establishment will definitely become the driver for entrepreneurship development as its guarantees solve one of the most challenging issues of the investment lending — deficit of liquid collateral. Bank Vozrozhdenie was one of the first banks in Russia to be accredited by the Agency, and now, together with the largest local banks, it will use this instrument for SME lending. We are sure that cooperation with the Agency will be fruitful and will let many of our borrowers successfully develop their businesses”, commented Mr. Alexander Dolgopolov, Chairman of Bank Vozrozhdenie Management Board.

Since its initiation, the Agency for credit guarantees has accredited eight largest banking organisations with a wide branch network in Russia. It provides grounds for implementation of the targets stated by the government — to ensure RUB 1 billion of guarantee support for SMEs by 2019.

OJSC “Non-banking credit and deposit organization “Agency for credit guarantees” (Agency for credit guarantees) was established in accordance with the Order of the Russian Federation Government #740-p dated 5 May 2014. It is a part of the Russian banking system, issuing guarantees and counter-guarantees on loans and other debt instruments to small and medium enterprises, sharing credit risks with banks and other financial organisations. The authorized capital of the Agency totals RUB 50 billion. The Russian Federation represented by the Federal Agency for State property Management is the only founder and shareholder of the Agency. The Economic Development Ministry of the Russian Federation acts on behalf of the Agency’s shareholder.