EBRD to provide Azerbaijan's DemirBank with loan of $5 million
By Nazrin Gadimova
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide Azerbaijan's DemirBank with a loan of $5 million to finance energy efficiency projects.
The bank will lend the allocated funds to individuals and legal entities interested in investing in energy efficiency. The EBRD Board of Directors is expected to approve the allocations on June 25.
"The project will contribute to strengthening the customer base of Demirbank and allow the bank to continue to compete successfully in the local market by providing customers with new products and medium-and long-term financing," the report said.
The loan is a part of the EBRD "Caucasus Energy Efficiency Program" (CEEP) on the energy efficiency in the Caucasus region, which started in July, 2007.
Demirbank is the first of the three banks in the country, for which similar loans will be allocated, EBRD's Baku Office head Neal McCain told Trend previously.
"All of these measures are part of the new strategy of EBRD in Azerbaijan approved in late April," McCain added.
Furthermore, in March 2013, the EBRD signed its first loan on energy efficiency with Azerbaijani AccessBank" within the framework of the energy efficiency program in the Caucasus region. A loan of $4.2 million will be directed at the reconstruction of the bank's head office on a total area of 9,840 square meters. EBRD loan will cover 30 percent of the project cost, and the remainder will be paid by the bank itself.
EBRD is a shareholder of the three banks in Azerbaijan - DemirBank, AccessBank and UniBank.
Since 1991, the EBRD has allocated about 1.8 billion euros for 146 projects in Azerbaijan; about half of the funds directed at the private sector.