BLR/ EBRD OFFERS €20 MILLION MORTGAGE FACILITY TO BELARUSSIAN BUSINESSES

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending a €20 million
 loan to Belgazprombank (BGPB) to support business mortgage lending in Belarus. This is
 the first business mortgage financing credit line provided by the EBRD to a Belarusian bank,
 a press release said. The loan will help domestic businesses to obtain mortgages with
 longer tenor for the acquisition of office, industrial, trading and warehouse space.
 
 The mortgage facility will provide long-term funding to mitigate real estate investment risks,
 the press release said, adding the proceeds will be on-lent to businesses and individual
 entrepreneurs.
 
 The new business mortgage scheme “will help address the problem of local companies
 being obliged to finance long-term real estate business acquisitions through short-term
 loans.” Currently business mortgages of a longer tenor are either rare or unavailable
 in Belarus. The facility will thus act as a benchmark for other potential financiers to
 engage in businesses mortgage financing through local banks...(link)