OREANDA-NEWS. October 25, 2011. Implementing Vnesheconombank’s new SME support strategy SME Bank changes its priorities from wholesale supply to targeted (i.e. more efficient) SME support in the most important areas of innovation, modernization and energy efficiency, reported the press-centre of SME Bank.

SME Lending Support Program was launched in 2009. Since then the Bank has attained meaningful results in all Russian regions including 117 monoprofile cities. Presently the size of support exceeds RUB 150 billion. Over 200 federal and regional banks and over 100 infrastructure institutions have become SME Bank’s partners.

“The Bank faces a new ambitions task to increase the share of innovative SMEs in Russia’s GDP. To that effect the Bank’s Program will be targeted at modernization, energy efficiency and creation of new jobs”, said Sergey Krjukov, SME Bank’s CEO.