TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 11. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expected to provide a senior loan of up to $9 million to support Uzbekistan's Ipoteka Bank (IB), Trend reports.
According to the bank, this financing will go along with concessional finance of up to $1 million from the TaiwanICDF. The support is expected to be provided through the Green Economy Financing Facility II in Uzbekistan (GEFF II Uzbekistan) program. This funding is intended to aid IB in offering loans to eligible clients.
The funds from the EBRD will be directed towards on-lending to eligible Sub-borrowers, encompassing both businesses and individuals, including women and men, who are executing qualifying sub-projects aligned with the technical and financial criteria outlined in the GEFF II Uzbekistan Policy Statement. The loan agreement also entails that IB will enhance its ability to incorporate gender considerations into its green lending endeavors.
Ranked as the 5th largest bank in Uzbekistan based on total assets and holding a market share of approximately 7.9 percent by the close of 2022, IB operates through 39 branches and 122 service centers. Recently, OTP Group obtained a majority state (73.71 percent) in IB, making it the first foreign strategic investor to acquire a major bank within Uzbekistan's banking sector. OTP Group, a prominent financial group in Hungary, holds ratings of Baa1 (0)/BBB-(0) from Moody's and S&P as of May 2023.
Meanwhile, the EBRD's portfolio in Uzbekistan includes 16 completed projects with a total value of 391.3 million euros, covering areas such as water and sanitation, energy, district heating, transport, and small and medium business support.