OREANDA-NEWS. Last year Uniastrum ranked as Russia’s 8th biggest lender to unincorporated businesses, according to Kommersant-Dengi magazine and Expert RA rating agency

As of year-start 2013, Uniastrum’s unincorporated business credit portfolio totaled Rb 8.2 bn, with lending to sole proprietors currently accounting for around 10% of the Bank’s assets. Uniastrum aims to continue its active efforts in this segment and to upsize its overall share in the total credit portfolio to 25% over the next three years.

Uniastrum offers unincorporated businesses a wide variety of programs and borrowing options, depending on the customer’s objectives and projects. A conspicuous benefit of the programs is their generous repayment periods: up to five years for working capital loans and up to eight years for investment loans. The loan officer’s decision takes into account all the applicant’s financial statements.

A common problem encountered by entrepreneurs looking to secure a bank loan is insufficient collateral. In most of its service areas, Uniastrum works in partnership with small business assistance funds, which provide sole proprietors with guarantees, thus enabling them to secure the amount of credit they need.

The Uniastrum Bank website has a newly improved loan calculator that allows potential borrowers to select the credit program, loan period and amount best suited to their purposes and to calculate the debt load: http://www.uniastrum.ru/sme/crediting/calc/. Loan applications can also be completed online and a decision issued within three business days.

“Uniastrum Bank has a successful track record when it comes to helping small and unincorporated businesses,” notes Margarita Demyokhina, Directors of Uniastrum’s Corporate Lending Division. “We are continuing to develop this segment, focusing particularly on simplifying borrowing procedures and online Bank-client liaison with a view to taking quicker decisions and providing higher quality of service.”