OREANDA-NEWS. December 13, 2011. State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)’ and the IFC (the International Finance Corporation which is a member of the World Bank Group) signed an Agreement on Financing the Fund for the Capitalization of Russian Banks (the FCRB).

Under the Agreement Vnesheconombank is to commit 250 million dollars to the Fund for the Capitalization of Russian Banks. Vnesheconombank’s participation in the FCRB was approved by the Bank’s Supervisory Board in July of 2011.

The Fund to be established is to invest in the capital of Russian universal second echelon banks actively operating in the regions funding small and medium-sized real-sector businesses.

“The Fund for Capitalization of Russian Banks is to expand access to financing for Russian companies operating in the regions thereby helping to diversify the economy and raise employment”, said Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Vice President for Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. ‘We hope that the Fund would not only provide banks with required capital but also would contribute to improving corporate governance and increasing their business’ sustainability”.

“The Fund will become an efficient instrument for funding Russia’s real economy including small and medium-sized enterprises”, thinks Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev. “We are glad to support this initiative and join our forces and resources to create an instrument to mobilize new capital for Russia’s banking sector”.

Earlier in the course of the Saint-Petersburg International Economic Forum in June of 2011 an Agreement was signed between the Russian Federation and the IFC on the Russian Federation’s participation in funding the FCRB in the amount of 50 million US dollars. At the same time Vnesheconombank and the IFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Creating a FCRB.