OREANDA-NEWS. July 13, 2010. Priorbank JSC, the Belarusian subsidiary of Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, received the first tranche of a USD 15 million loan from Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO). The facility is intended as a credit line to provide finance to small and medium-sized enterprises and has a tenor of five years, with a grace period of two years.

"This deal is of high importance not only for Priorbank, but also for the whole economy of the country. At present, there is great demand for credit resources from small and medium-sized enterprises. We understand that this segment has huge development potential and needs financing. Due to this deal, Priorbank can offer SMEs both short-term and long-term loan facilities", commented Sergey Kostyuchenko, CEO of Priorbank.

Steven Duyverman, Manager Financial Institutions at FMO, commented, "At FMO we strongly believe in the power of entrepreneurship as a driver for economic development. With this loan, Priorbank will be able to maintain its positive role in the transition economy of Belarus. Through its position as an independent bank with Raiffeissen International as a strong and reputable shareholder, it will keep on contributing to increased competition in and further development of the financial sector of Belarus."

Priorbank, the largest privately-owned bank in Belarus, and FMO have been cooperating previously. FMO participated in a syndicated loan package on behalf of Priorbank, intended to provide finance to small and medium-sized enterprises and to provide mortgages. This facility had its final disbursement in 2009. This new bilateral loan expresses FMO’s confidence in Priorbank to further develop and promote private entrepreneurship.