Belarusky Narodny Bank

completed

The project involves the purchase of an equity stake of up to 20% in Belarusky Narodny Bank (“BNB”) and a senior loan for SME finance of up to $5 million; a GTFP line in an amount to be determined may also be a part of IFC’s financial package. IFC’s existing client, Bank of Georgia, (“BoG”) has purchased a controlling stake in BNB, with a plan to transform the limited existing operations into an SME bank. BoG and the existing minority shareholder would participate in a new share issue to expand the Bank and meet new regulatory capital requirements for banks operating in Belarus.For BoG, Belarus represents an opportunity to expand outside of its home market (where it is the largest bank) into a growth market, and in particular, one with a limited SME banking market. Since the Belarusian economy is 5-times larger than Georgia’s and yet much more limited in the development of SME banking, the opportunity has great potential for BoG. BNB is a small Minsk-based bank with CAR of over 50%; Tier 1 equity is over 50% of assets. The bank has historically turned a small profit by serving a small number of Belarusian companies, most of which would be considered medium-sized or even small enterprises.