FIF - Belaruski Narodny Bank LCY loan III

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

The provision of a senior unsecured loan of up to € 7 million (in local currency equivalent) to Belaruski Narodny Bank (BNB-Bank) for on-lending to local private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) under Financial Intermediaries Framework (FIF), to be made available in one tranche.

This project is in line with Belarus country strategy, which is prioritising access to finance for the private sector as well as the promotion of local currency lending in the country.

Project ID 52427

Status Complete

Location

Belarus

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

Anton Slesarev
aslesarev@bnb.by
+375 17 388 87 75
www.bnb.by
Belaruski Narodny Bank 87a Niezalieznasci ave., 220012, Minsk Belarus

Project ID 52427

Status Complete

Location

Belarus

Business Sector

Financial Institutions

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

18 Nov 2020

Disclosure date

24 Nov 2020

As permitted by paragraph 2.6 of Section III of the Access to Information Policy, disclosure of this PSD was deferred in accordance with paragraph 1.4.4 of the Directive on Access to Information.

Project description

This project is in line with Belarus country strategy, which is prioritising access to finance for the private sector as well as the promotion of local currency lending in the country.

Project objectives

The project will provide essential and timely support to a long-standing privately-owned partner-bank in Belarus. It will facilitate the adjustment to operational challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the continuation of sustainable local currency lending to MSMEs.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

Project will support the competitiveness of BNB-Bank by facilitating the development of its MSME loan portfolio supporting attraction of new and regional borrowers. Requirements to comply with financial covenants and portfolio quality ratios will also contribute to the resilience of the institution.

Client information

BELARUSKI NARODNY BANK

Belaruski Narodny Bank (BNB-Bank), an EBRD partner bank since 2011, is a mid-sized bank in Belarus, owned by Bank of Georgia. Its activity is primarily focused on MSME lending.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 7,000,000.00

In local currency equivalent.

Total project cost

EUR 7,000,000.00

In local currency equivalent.

Additionality

The Loan will be highly additional because of its: (1) Financing structure: medium-term funding in LCY, currently unavailable in the Belarusian market; (2) Standard-setting: Strict sub-loan eligibility criteria as defined by the Financial Intermediaries Framework MSME Policy Statement, financial covenants and reporting requirements.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised FI (2019 ESP). BNB is an existing client and its past performance and annual environmental and social (E&S) reporting to date for existing exposures has been satisfactory. Due to the current situation in Belarus, particular attention has been paid to the application of PR2 and the impacts of COVID-19. Additional information and clarifications provided by BNB's HR department have confirmed compliance with PR2, including workers grievance mechanism, and that BNB has put in place risk management procedures regarding Covid-19. The bank will need to continue to comply with PRs 2, 4 and 9, including the updated E&S Exclusion List introduced with ESP 2019 as well as the Referral List, continue to implement the E&S Risk Management Procedures for MSME Loans, ensure that appropriate credit staff undertake the Bank's on-line E&S E-learning training for FIs, and submit annual E&S reports to the EBRD. Sub-borrowers financed through BNB's loan will be required to comply with national environmental, health, safety and labour (EHSL) requirements.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

This project was approved in the context of the Bank's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To avoid delays to the delivery of this project, the Bank's President granted a deviation from the ordinary timelines for PSD disclosure, as contemplated by Section V of the Directive on Access to Information. Details of the Bank's response to COVID-19, and this deviation, can be found on our website.

Company Contact Information

Anton Slesarev
aslesarev@bnb.by
+375 17 388 87 75
www.bnb.by
Belaruski Narodny Bank 87a Niezalieznasci ave., 220012, Minsk Belarus

PSD last updated

03 Dec 2020

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

Our story

How we invest in changing lives

What we offer for businesses

Search

FIF - Belaruski Narodny Bank LCY loan III

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)