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EBRD lends $15 million to help spread of leasing in Russia
Loan is fresh boost for small and medium-sized businesses in Russian regions
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has lent $15 million to
Europlan, formerly known as DeltaLeasing, to bring leasing products within
range of a greater number of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia’s
regions.
The five-year loan is the second to the company, which in 2002, when it was
still known as DeltaLeasing, borrowed $10 million from the EBRD.
The EBRD has been a major driving force behind the expansion of leasing in the
Russian market and this transaction shows that a well-managed, transparent and
well-capitalised leasing company can develop a long-term relationship with the
Bank, said Jonathan Woollett, Director of the EBRD Non-Bank Financial
Institutions team.
Moscow-based Europlan, founded in 1999, is active in 36 of Russia’s 89 regions
and specialises in offering leasing as an alternative financial solution for
small and medium-sized businesses in a country where bank loans of longer than
one year are still rare.
The company is managed by Baring Vostok Capital Partners, a leading private
equity fund in Russia.
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