OREANDA-NEWS. May 31, 2010. The EBRD signed an agreement under which it is lending Credit Bank of Moscow (CBM) USD20 million to finance small businesses, one of the sectors of the Russian economy worst hit by the credit crunch. The five-year loan will provide the necessary funding to meet a revival in demand for loans from this business segment, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The EBRD loan will be disbursed in two equal tranches.

CBM, a Moscow-based universal bank active in Moscow and the Moscow region which targets mainly mid-sized corporate and private clients, ranks as the country’s 41st largest bank, as measured by assets. CBM is currently rated ‘B1’ by Moody’s and ‘B’ by Fitch.

An EBRD client for the last five years, CBM is one of the few Russian banks to have continued lending to small and mid-sized business borrowers through the crisis year of 2009, as confirmed by its asset growth during that difficult period. This new SME lending facility is the third in a row granted by the EBRD and the fifth granted by international financial institutions.