Bank of Georgia Holdings PLC (“BGH”), the holding company of JSC Bank of Georgia (“the Bank”), Georgia’s leading bank announces that the Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a loan agreement in the amount of US$ 10 million under the EBRD’s Caucasus Energy Efficiency Programme (CEEP). The loan bears maturity of five years and will be used for on-lending to private sector entities with a view to finance energy efficiency and rational energy utilization investments. Technical Cooperation and Grant support for this operation has been provided by the Austrian Government and the European Union (“EU”) through the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (“NIF”) and will fund technical assistance and incentives to endborrowers.
EBRD will also facilitate the launch of International Factoring, by providing EUR 10 million facility under its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) to the Bank.
“Having successfully provided energy efficiency loans to corporate clients under the first agreement under CEEP with the Bank’s long-time partner and shareholder EBRD, Bank of Georgia is committed to further extend its financing to businesses that will enable its clients to employ energy saving technologies and improve their competitiveness,” said Irakli Gilauri, CEO, Bank of Georgia. “As the first Georgian bank to introduce factoring product to the Georgian market in 2007, I am very pleased that the launch of International Factoring within the EBRD’s TFP will allow Bank of Georgia to expand the range of the products offered to its corporate clients and will contribute to the expansion of international trade operations of the bank”.
“EBRD is delighted to work with its long-standing partner bank to continue to finance the real economy, particularly, the energy efficiency lending. The development of the market for Sustainable Energy lending as well as further promoting trade finance form of banking in Georgia are very important for the EBRD. Bank of Georgia has been traditionally one of the most active banks in TFP in Georgia, a significant market player with a good track record of growth and strong reputation”, said Bruno Balvanera, EBRD Director for Caucasus, Moldova & Belarus.
