The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is launching a EUR20 mln risk-sharing facility for the Ukrainian subsidiaries of Hungary’s OTP Bank: OTP Bank and OTP Leasing, to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those operating in the agribusiness sector or owned by women.
“IFC assumes half of the risk on a combined EUR40 million portfolio covering key segments of the Ukrainian economy,” the corporation said in a press release on Friday.
It is specified that these will be the first risk-sharing arrangements in Ukraine under the IFC Small Loan Guarantee Program, which is supported by the European Commission and which will help save jobs, provide essential goods and services, restore supply chains, as well as generate export revenues and budget revenues.
IFC recalls that in 2021, SMEs accounted for 99.97% of all enterprises in Ukraine, generated about 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employed more than 7 million people. SMEs suffered significant losses in the second half of 2022, and now only 6% of them are doing business at the same levels as before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“A strong private sector is key to Ukraine’s economic revival. Expanding access to finance for businesses is critical to counteract the macroeconomic instability and supply chain disruptions that are now severely hampering economic activity in the country,” IFC Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean Alfonso Garcia Mora was quoted as saying in the release.
He added that IFC aims to ensure access to credit and stimulate innovation as a key prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery.
As reported, initially IFC from the World Bank Group considered the project of providing partial risk coverage of new financing for Ukrainian OTP Bank and OTP Leasing for EUR60 mln – EUR30 mln for each financial institution, estimating its possible participation in risk coverage up to EUR30 mln.
OTP Bank was the eighth among 65 Ukrainian banks in terms of total assets (103.33 billion UAH) at the beginning of June this year. The Bank has 75 branches in Ukraine.
“OTP Leasing is the largest leasing company in Ukraine with the share of about 45% according to the results of the first quarter of this year. The CEO of OTP Leasing Andrey Pavlushin reported earlier that in the first half of 2023 the company financed Ukrainian clients for UAH 2.2 billion, which is 3-4% more than the indicator of the first half of 2022.
