OREANDA-NEWS. November 18, 2011. Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces the signing of a long-term framework agreement with Sberbank of Russia on providing a loan to Mechel Trading AG.

Sberbank of Russia provides Mechel Trading AG with a framework credit line totaling 130 million US dollars for a period of three years and within its framework, separate credit lines carrying a 1-year tenor. Mechel OAO and Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO act as guarantors of the facility.

“Mechel Group’s Russian enterprises have a good, strong relationship with our longstanding partner Sberbank of Russia. This credit line takes that relationship further and extends it to Mechel Group’s foreign subsidiaries. Despite the current volatility of financial markets, we managed to obtain financing on attractive terms, which demonstrates the quality of our partnership and the high level of the bank’s trust in the company. These funds will be used to finance Mechel Trading AG’s current operations, including pre-export financing,” Mechel OAO’s Chief Financial Officer Stanislav Ploschenko said.

“Over a long history of cooperation Sberbank of Russia and Mechel Group built strong partnership ties. The signed agreement on financing for Mechel Trading AG demonstrates our plans for developing long-term cooperation with Mechel Group both on the Russian and the foreign markets,” said Tatyana Sakharova, Sberbank of Russia’s Managing Director and Chief of Credit and Project Financing in the Corporate Clients Department.