- EBRD extends US$ 143.25 million in financing to Türkiye’s DenizBank
- Funding to support on-lending to green investments and women-led SMEs
- US$ 27.5 million directed at companies involved in disaster response
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing new funds of US$ 143.25 million to Türkiye’s DenizBank in a financing package that prioritises green investments, women-led businesses and earthquake response.
The financing package is being made available through an investment under DenizBank’s existing Diversified Payment Rights programme, an established market instrument used by Turkish banks to raise long-term funding.
The funding will be under three of the Bank’s key frameworks: the Türkiye Green Economy Financing Facility, the Women in Business programme, and the Disaster Response Framework, which was set up in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes that hit the country on 6 February, causing more than 50,000 fatalities and widespread damage in the affected cities.
US$ 88.25 million of the proceeds will be used for on-lending to companies investing in the green economy. The remaining funds will be split between two key purposes: US$ 27.5 million will be directed towards women-led small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, and another US$ 27.5 million will be channelled to companies that are involved in relief and reconstruction work in the disaster zone.
This will be the EBRD’s first financing package to include a Disaster Response Framework component since the earthquakes shook the country. The Bank has announced an earthquake response package of up to €1.5 billion, including a sizeable €600 million share for partnerships with financial institutions.
Arthur Poghosyan, Deputy Head of Türkiye, Financial Institutions at the EBRD, welcomed the transaction, saying: “DenizBank is a long-standing partner of the EBRD, and we are pleased to be working with them on this very crucial project, which includes our first Disaster Response Framework financing. I am confident that joining forces will help bring relief to countless individuals and companies that have been struggling to return to normal since the heart-breaking earthquakes of 6 February.”
“We will continue to work with our financial partners to support the human capital, jobs and livelihoods in the affected regions in a bid to ensure these cities can be reintegrated into Türkiye’s economy. In times of crises and uncertainty, we are proud to be a solid partner for financial institutions and the Turkish economy as a whole.”
DenizBank, fully owned by Emirates NBD Bank and a previous EBRD client, is the fifth-largest private bank in Türkiye in terms of consolidated assets, and is active in all 81 provinces of the country.
DenizBank CEO Hakan Ateş highlighted the benefits of securing long-term and cost-effective funding from abroad, adding: “A significant part of this funding will be used to finance green projects in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency and women entrepreneurs with limited access to finance. In addition, we will continue to increase the efforts we have been making to aid the recovery of the people and businesses affected by the earthquakes, using the funding to help restore the region after the greatest natural disaster in the history of Türkiye.”
The Türkiye Green Economy Financing Facility consists of €500 million in funds from the EBRD, concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and grants from the CTF and Türkiye-EBRD Cooperation Fund. DenizBank will receive a technical assistance package to support its corporate climate governance (CCG) and on-lending practices. Technical assistance with regard to CCG will focus on practices and recommendations developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
In addition, the project will allow women-led businesses to benefit from risk-sharing through the Turkish Credit Guarantee Fund and Türkiye’s Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The facility is part of the €600 million EBRD TurWiB II Programme, which offers financing and technical support to women-led businesses in Türkiye. An earlier phase of this programme was co-funded by the European Union.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than €17.5 billion in various sectors of the Turkish economy, largely in the private sector.
