Bank equity projects

Project Summary Documents

Project Summary Documents (PSDs) are disclosed for each project prior to Board consideration. They contain project descriptions, financial details, client information, environmental issues, tender guidelines, and contact details. PSDs for private sector projects are disclosed at least 30 days prior to Board consideration and for state sector projects, at least 60 days.

Project Summary Documents

Signed projects

Board approval is the final stage in the project approval process. After Board approval, the EBRD and the client sign the deal and it becomes legally binding. Signed project lists reflect year-end data.

Signed projects  (0.1Mb)

Case studies

Financing Georgian economy’s growth - 2008

With two crises one after the other, 2008 was not the best year for the Georgian banking sector. The August 2008 Russia-Georgia conflict, followed by the global financial crisis, left investors nervous with the Georgian banking system under pressure as depositors withdrew money. So vulnerable was the country after the August conflict that foreign governments and international donors pledged US$ 4.55 billion to aid Georgia’s recovery.

A long-term investor in Georgia, the EBRD is standing by its partner banks in difficult times. Over the last four years, the EBRD has invested over US$ 150 million in the Georgian banking sector through equity, long-term funding and trade facilitation guarantees.

In December 2008, the EBRD teamed up with the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, to provide a financial package of US$ 200 million to the Bank of Georgia. This is Georgia’s largest bank as well as the first Georgian company and the second bank in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The finance helps the Bank of Georgia maintain sufficient liquidity during the financial crisis and continues to assist retail clients and small and medium-sized businesses, two key client sectors that drive economic growth in Georgia.

After several years of successful integration into the world economy, Georgia was also affected by the impact of the global financial crisis. The impact was felt by local banks and businesses when access to international and local finance tightened.

The EBRD-IFC investment into the Bank of Georgia is helping to promote a stable and healthy banking sector. The financing is EBRD’s largest transaction to date in the financial sector in the early transition countries.

The EBRD is one of the largest investors in Georgia. It has financed over 80 projects with a total project value of €780 million in major sectors of Georgia’s economy from agribusiness to energy. About 85 per cent of investments are in the private sector.

Strengthening commercial practices in Komercijalna Banka

The EBRD is showing its growing confidence in Serbia’s economic development by helping the country’s largest majority state-owned bank, Komercijalna Banka, develop into a modern, efficient institution that is able to build on its strong market position and take full advantage of Serbia’s biggest branch network.

The EBRD bought a 25 per cent stake in Komercijalna Banka in March 2006. The immediate impact of this investment is to help the bank develop its business now. Longer term, it will also help to prepare Komercijalna Banka for full privatisation through a planned initial public offering (IPO) in three to five years’ time.

With this goal in mind, the EBRD has put special emphasis on the implementation of a comprehensive institution-building plan developed in cooperation with Komercijalna Banka’s management. This programme, financially supported with donor funds from Canada, aims to raise corporate governance to international levels, strengthen credit and risk management procedures, upgrade customer service standards and introduce new IT systems.

Through this project, the EBRD will serve as a catalyst for the restructuring of Komercijalna Banka. The EBRD will work with the Serbian government, the other minority shareholders and the management of the bank towards full privatisation. The EBRD’s investment signals growing confidence in Serbia’s economic development, and is expected to encourage further investment.

Komercijalna Banka is Serbia’s fourth-largest bank and the largest with majority state ownership. While other state-owned banks have been sold to strategic investors, Komercijalna Banka’s aim is to achieve a successful listing on the Belgrade Stock Exchange.

“We aim to become a strong publicly listed alternative to the foreign-owned banks in our country,” said Ivica Smolic, President of Komercijalna Banka’s Executive Board. “We are grateful to the EBRD for acting as a forceful independent partner helping us to realise this vision.”

In Serbia, a fast-growing economy is prompting swift developments in the financial sector so that banks can keep up with the wealth being generated by Serbian business success, offering products that are sophisticated and flexible enough to satisfy the domestic market and reaching out to global markets too.

The EBRD paid €70 million for its stake in Komercijalna Banka, evidence of the Bank’s continuing strong commitment to the development of the Serbian financial sector. The investment should also facilitate Komercijalna Banka’s access to long-term funding in the international commercial markets.

Helping entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan

Fakhraddin Bakhishev and Mahir Mishiyev form the FM Partnership, a brick-making business in the city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan. The company supplies bricks and other materials to the local construction industry.

As orders increased over the years, the company realised it needed new investment to meet this demand. Turning to Unibank for help, they received a €238,000 three-year loan, allowing them to increase production capacity and improve the range of their products.

Helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as FM Partnership, is the main activity of Unibank, one of the biggest private banks in Azerbaijan and the first private sector merger in the country’s banking sector. Since 2002, Unibank has provided small businesses with access to longer term loans through a €1 million credit line provided jointly by the EBRD and the International Co-operation and Development Fund of Taipei China.

In 2003 the EBRD increased our support by acquiring a 20 per cent stake in Unibank, our first in a local bank in Azerbaijan. Our financing will strengthen Unibank’s capital base and help the bank to develop new products. As a result, the bank will improve its services to SMEs and be able to pursue its long-term aim of becoming the leading full-service bank in the country – providing a full range of services to retail and business customers. Training and other assistance is being supported through funding from the EU’s Tacis programme.