AccessBank has signed a loan agreement with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) for USD 15 mln.

Baku, April 28, 2009. Today AccessBank and IFC announced that they have signed a loan agreement for USD 15 mln. This long-term loan, as was the case with all loans received by AccessBank from foreign investors will be directed to financing Micro and Small businesses across Azerbaijan. In addition, part of the loan will be directed specifically to providing funding for AccessBank’s Agro Loan product.

Dr. Andrew Pospielovsky, General Manager of AccessBank commenting on the announcement said: “IFC’s continuous support for Azerbaijan’s entrepreneurs, especially in this period of economic cooling, is of great significance. This loan will also especially help AccessBank support regional entrepreneurs. Despite the difficult situation in global capital markets AccessBank continues to successfully raise new funds – just in March alone the bank received the first tranche of USD 14 mln from a USD 28 mln syndicated loan and signed another loan agreement for USD 5 mln with the Opec Fund for International Development”

In March AccessBank disbursed loans to over 5,500 entrepreneurs and, presently finances over 50,000 entrepreneurs all over the country.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. The IFC fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year.