Belgazprombank

completed

Belgazprombank (the Bank or the company) is the second largest bank in Belarus outside of the state sector and the eighth largest in the country in terms of assets. Its audited end-2003 equity amounted to $15 million equivalent and assets to $81 million equivalent. The Bank has 3 branches in the capital city of Minsk and one in each of the 4 regional centers. The Bank’s strategy is to strengthen its position in all market segments in which it currently operates, with a particular focus on private SME companies and microenterprises. Belgazprombank is planning to use IFC funding to expand its lending and leasing portfolio to private SMEs in various sectors of the economy. The Bank’s management and shareholders have expressed a strong interest in developing a relationship with IFC to: - diversify the Bank’s funding base and increase its ability to offer longer-term loans to private SMEs; - increase the Bank’s visibility in the financial community, thus opening financing opportunities to work with Western commercial banks; and - strengthen the Bank’s reputation in the local banking sector.