BSTDB Provides EUR 23 million Loan to Ameriabank to Boost SME Financing in Armenia

02 June 2021– The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB)  is providing a five-year EUR 23 million loan to Ameriabank to expand access to finance for Armenian small and medium-sized enterprises  (SMEs). 

The BSTDB’s financing will support  liquidity and working capital needs of  industrial and agricultural SMEs, promote exports and facilitate  the private sector growth and employment in Armenia.

“We are pleased to further strengthen our established cooperation with Ameriabank - a market leader in Armenia and BSTDB  trusted partner since 2014. Thanks to our successful partnership, we have been able to reach out to many SMEs in the country and inject a total of USD 25 million, which otherwise we would not have been able to do directly.  Our new financing is  part of  BSTDB’s continued efforts to help combat the impact of the coronavirus and support the post-pandemic recovery of Armenian economy and we are proud that it comes at a time when development support is most needed.”, said Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB President.

“We are happy that our long-lasting effective cooperation with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank has enabled us to implement a number of successful projects. The attracted funds give us the opportunity to provide long-term financing to small and medium enterprises operating in Armenia, thus contributing to development of the sector and enhancement of competitiveness and strengthening the SMEs’ position in the target markets.  This is the third loan instrument issued to Ameriabank by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank for the purpose of SME financing.  We hope that cooperation between BSTDB and Ameriabank will be continuous, since implementation of target support projects developed for the SME sector is one of the most important directions both for our partners and us.”, said Artak Hanesyan, CEO of Ameriabank.

The new loan to Ameriabank will bring the total BSTDB’s assistance to the SME sector development in Armenia through local financial institutions to over USD 100 million.  

Ameriabank CJSC Ameriabank is a dynamically developing bank and one of the most stable and largest financial institutions in Armenia. Ameriabank CJSC is a universal bank rendering corporate, investment and retail services in a comprehensive package of banking solutions. Based on 2020 results, Ameriabank is the leader in the Armenian banking sector by its financial indicators (assets, liabilities, loan portfolio, capital). The principal activities are deposit taking and account management, lending, issuing guarantees, cash and settlement operations, transactions with securities and foreign exchange.  For further information, please visit www.ameriabank.am or call (+37410) 56 11 11.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s,  “A2” by Moody’s and “A+” by the Russian credit rating agency ACRA. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org or email: [email protected].