OREANDA-NEWS. June 27, 2011. The EBRD is stepping up its support for private sector businesses in Mongolia with a new financing accord with its longest-standing partner in the country, Mongolia's fourth largest commencial bank, Xac-Bank.

The EBRD and Xac-bank have signed an agreement whereby the EBRD will provide cofinancing of up to 50 percent of loans made by Xac-Bank to a select number of its customers. EBRD funding for these loans, made under its Medium-Sized Co-Financing Facility (MCFF), will total USD 10 million.

This financing will allow Xac-Bank to expand its lending capacity and to provide larger, longer term loans to its expanding SME customer base. With the EBRD taking on up to half of the indvidual credits, there will also less risk to Xac-bank of single borrower credit concentration.

Xac-Bank was the EBRD’s first investment partner in Mongolia when it became an EBRD Country of Operations in 2006.  That first transaction  was a USD 5 million loan to Xac-bank aimed at the micro and small business sector.

It has since become one of the main international financial institutions that work with Xac-Bank, providing long–term funding, trade finance and technical assistance and is a 10.5 percent  shareholder in the bank which is the country's industry leader in corporate governance.

“This facility is an important step in the further enhancement of our cooperation with Xac-Bank, which will enable more businesses to access bank financing and facilitate growth of a medium-sized private sector in Mongolia, ” said Philip ter Woort, Head of the EBRD office in Mongolia.

Xac-Bank’s CEO Bat-Ochir said: “The signing of this agreement is an important part of Xac-Bank’s strategy to diversify and develop its financial services and banking products.  We are pleased to welcome this further cooperation with the EBRD which demonstrates this leading International Financial Institution's confidence in our bank.”

Since the beginning of its operations in Mongolia, the EBRD has committed about €330 million (USD 460 million) to 41 projects in various sectors of Mongolia’s economy.