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Strengthening Azerbaijan’s banking sector
EBRD supports Bank Respublika with co-financing facility
The EBRD is supporting the expansion and diversification of Azerbaijan’s Bank
Respublika with a $6 million co-financing facility. Bank Respublika, a
joint-stock company founded in 1992, is Azerbaijan’s fifth largest bank by
total assets.
The credit line will assist Bank Respublika in the diversifaction of its
funding base, support asset growth and stimulate lending to small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The co-financing facility will be used for
lending to local private companies that have increased need for financing.
This project will support financial intermediation and increase competition in
the banking sector of Azerbaijan.
Aygen Yayikoglu, the Head of the EBRD Baku office, said the financing will
contribute to the development of SMEs in Azerbaijan’s non-oil sector and will
underpin sustainable growth of both the national economy and help diversify
Bank Respublika’s portfolio.
Khadija Hasanova, the CEO of Bank Respublika, said that the EBRD has been
extremely successful in introducing innovations to the local financial market.
These include SME credit lines, micro and small enterprise lending and the
expansion of the Trade Facilitation Programme to the country. With the
co-financing facility, Bank Respublika’s business volume with the EBRD will
reach $18.7 million which is a good sign of the bank’s rapid growth and the
successful cooperation between the two institutions.
To date, the EBRD has signed more than 30 investments worth more than $900
million in Azerbaijan. The Bank is focused on the development of a strong
financial sector, the support of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and
the development of the non-oil private sector.
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The EBRD, owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, aims
to foster the transition from centrally planned to market economies from
central Europe to central Asia. Visit the EBRD’s website: www.ebrd.com
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