OREANDA-NEWS.  October 30, 2012. SME Bank (Vnesheconombank Group) took part in the international forum “Strengthening of Russian-French Business Partnership” organized by the Association of Regional Banks of Russia and Europlace (France) in Paris, reported the press-centre of SME Bank.

The forum was attended by Anatoly Aksakov, President of ARB, representatives of the Central  Bank of Russia and the banking community, Ministry of Economy and Finances of France, AFII, Caisse des Depots (investments in small business and socially-oriented projects).

According to Olesia Teploukhova, Member of the Board - Deputy Chairman of SME Bank, SME Bank has been supporting SMEs for many years. Today the SME Lending Support Program is being implemented in all Russian regions: SME Bank allocates resources via a network of partners comprising nearly 340 banks, leasing and factoring companies, microfinance organizations and regional funds. As of September 1, 2012 the size of support under the Program has totaled RUB 196 billion.