ArmInfo.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a US$ 25 million loan to InecoBank, a longstanding partner bank in Armenia, for extending support to private companies that have been affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the press service of the EBRD reports.
According to the source, "InecoBank is well placed to channel EBRD funds to companies that are going through this unprecedented period of volatility. Getting financial help to businesses and providing uninterrupted lending is essential for keeping the economy going," said Dimitri Gvindadze, EBRD Head of Armenia.
Inecobank has been financing businesses in all sectors in Armenia for about 25 years. Amid the pandemic the bank is standing by its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients and, through tailored solutions, helping them overcome financial difficulties caused by the crisis. The funds from the EBRD will be used to continue supporting the SME sector.
"In this emergency situation we will be able to continue offering special support programmes for the core range of businesses in our economy to weather the current difficulties and create a brighter future, and this is once again possible through cooperation with the EBRD, one of our key partners for many years," said Aren Naltakyan, CEO of Inecobank.
The EBRD remains an important partner in Armenia during the Covid-19 crisis and the new financing is part of the efforts to help combat the impact of the coronavirus and support the recovery.
The EBRD is committed to providing support worth EUR21 billion over 2020-21 to the 38 economies where it currently invests. The support includes a Resilience Framework for existing clients, offering short- term liquidity and working capital.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Armenia. The Bank has invested more than EUR1.5 billion across 183 projects in the country to date, where it is supporting private sector development and the transition to a sustainable, green economy.
To note, in April Inecobank received $ 15 million from the European Fund for South-Eastern Europe (EFSE) as part of support in responding to the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis.
INECOBANK has been operating in the Armenian market since October 1996. In December 2016, ProCredit Bank merged with INECOBANK, and as part of this process, an institutional investor in the person of EBRD was attracted to the capital, which four years later - in the first quarter of 2020, it left the capital.
With allowance for this, the shareholding of the majority shareholders of INECOBANK now looks as follows: Baloyan Avetis - 38.1%, Safaryan Karen - 32.95%, and the share of investment funds agRIF Cooperatief U.A. (Belgium) and DWM FUNDS S.C.A.-SICAV SIF (Luxembourg) remained unchanged at 10.01% and 5.1%, respectively.
