EDB Provided Loan to BCC-Moscow for Financing SMEs

Almaty, 28 March 2011. On Monday, Marat Dzhaukenov, Deputy Chairman of the EDB Executive Board, and Lyubov Karlash, Chairman of the Board of the Bank BCC-Moscow, a subsidiary of Bank CenterCredit, signed a loan agreement for a three-year, RR450-million non-revolving facility for financing small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Russia. This project is a part of the EDB’s ongoing Programme of Support and Development of SMEs by Providing Target Facilities to Financial Institutions.

BCC-Moscow will independently select borrowers from among eligible SMEs that meet criteria approved by the EDB and issue loans to them for business development.

The project will create favourable climate for SMEs development, promotion of competition and enhancing SMEs’ competitiveness domestically and internationally, and strengthening the infrastructural and institutional basis of the market economy in Russia.

Summary

Bank BCC-Moscow (www.bcc-msk.ru) was founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Bank CenterCredit (The Republic of Kazakhstan), which ranks fourth in terms of assets of Kazakh banks ($8.2 billion as at 01.01.2011). Bank CenterCredit (founded in 1988) offers a full range of banking products including corporate loans, services for individuals, consumer loans and mortgage. Bank CenterCredit group also includes Capital Pension Fund and BCC Invest. In 2008 Kookmin Bank (The Republic of Korea) acquired 24.09% of voting shares of Bank CenterCredit. In 2010 Kookmin’s share was increased to 41.9% and another 10% was acquired by IFC, member of World Bank group.

Detailed information is available at www.bcc.kz.