ROSBANK FRAMEWORK FACILITY

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A US$ 50 million framework facility is to be established for Rosbank, with a particular focus on developing lending activities with SMEs.  In the initial phase funding will be provided under EBRD’s Trade Facilitation Programme (USD 20 million) and in the form of a US$ 20 million senior loan for on-lending to SMEs.  Future lending may be used to support the expansion of residential mortgage lending in Rosbank or other retail or SME banking products.   The primary objective of the project is to assist Rosbank in diversifying its business by expanding its trade finance operations and developing SME lending, which is a relatively new sector for Rosbank. The project will promote the extension of financial intermediation in Russia by using the broad regional network of Rosbank/OVK to reach Russian corporates and SMEs. The Facility is also expected to foster competition in the banking sector by giving borrowers greater choice in accessing retail networks with a wide geographical spread that offer a full range of banking services. The project seeks to set high standards of corporate governance by introducing a number of performance measurements for transparency and business conduct.  The aim is to transform Rosbank into a bank meeting the highest international standards of corporate governance and transparency, thus increasing Rosbank’s attractiveness to creditors and potential investors. Rosbank is a large universal bank, owned by Interros.  Rosbank is the legal successor of Uneximbank, which suffered in the 1998 financial crisis in Russia and subsequently restructured its debt in 2000.  Future plans call for the merger of Rosbank with the OVK banking group, purchased in 2003 by Interros, which would create the bank with the second largest regional bank network after Sberbank. The total amount of the Facility is US$ 50 million and will be used in accordance with Rosbank’s needs to finance trade, SMEs and retail banking activities. US$ 50 million Rosbank will be required to comply with EBRD’s Environmental Procedures for Intermediated Financing through Local Banks, including adherence to the Environmental Exclusion and Referral List, compliance with the applicable national environmental, health and safety legislation, and submission of annual environmental reports to EBRD. None. Mr. Evgeny Yarovikov, Director of Financial Institutions Dept e-mail: eYarovikov@rosbank.ru telephone: +7 095 956 6727 fax: +7 095 725 2404