OREANDA-NEWS. August 13, 2009. Before year-end 2010 Uniastrum Bank plans to disburse Rb 2 bn in loans to small and medium-sized businesses in the Orenburg region, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum Bank.

A meeting between Orenburg region senior officials and the representatives of local lending institutions saw the signing of a memorandum between the regional administration and Uniastrum Bank. Sergei Grachev, Chairman of the Orenburg Region Government, said he was hopeful that teaming up with Uniastrum Bank would give a boost to small and medium-sized enterprise in the area.

The agreement was signed on behalf of Uniastrum Bank by its president, Gagik Zakaryan. Under the memorandum, Rb 2 bn are to be disbursed in loans to SME before year-end 2010. For the record, a similar agreement was signed this June with the Administration of Saint Petersburg envisaging a projected Rb 5 bn in allocations to the city’s small and medium-sized businesses.

Uniastrum Bank has maintained a presence in Orenburg for a good four years, with retail branches located in Buzuluk and Orsk. Local clients include numerous Orenburg-based enterprises, as well as a large number of retail customers.

On 19 November, 2008, against the backcloth of talks between the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and the President of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, Uniastrum Bank and the Bank of Cyprus signed a Memorandum to execute a joint three-year (2009-2011) SME lending program in Russia worth Rb 15 bn.

“Supporting the SME segment is one of our core business areas,” says Uniastrum Bank President, Gagik Zakaryan. “Our regional SME lending programs are already up and running and in each region we plan to enlist the support of the local administration. In this way we’ll be helping to encourage the general development of small enterprises and make borrowing all the easier for them.”