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EBRD lends USD10 million to Russia's consumer finance pioneer
Russian Standard Bank gets 3½-year loan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has signed a $10 million loan and equity option agreement with Russian Standard Bank. The 3½-year loan is aimed at boosting the consumer finance business of the bank, which has made its name by pioneering this new type of credit in Russia.
This is the EBRD's first consumer finance deal in Russia and follows closely on the signing of its first Russian leasing and mortgage deals, part of a strategy to encourage the Russian banking sector to broaden its range of products for clients.
Consumer finance is becoming increasingly popular with Russian banks, and by pioneering this fast-growing product Russian Standard Bank is both providing the kind of banking services that the population needs and helping the real economy, said Kurt Geiger, Director of the EBRD's Financial Institutions Team.
Making credit available to buyers with a minimum of bureaucracy is crucial for the development of the retail chains that are now beginning to operate in Russia, Mr Geiger added during a loan signing ceremony in Moscow.
Russian Standard Bank, founded in 1999 with the goal of focusing on consumer lending, is the first bank in Russia to have developed highly standardised consumer loans and can handle up to 20,000 loan applications a day. The bank's patented system helps ensure a very high level of repayment while minimising the time required for processing and approving loan applications, which are typically made by shoppers in stores.
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