OREANDA-NEWS. March 7, 2008. URSA Bank has attracted a dual-tranche loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the total amount of $125 million. The first tranche amounted to $50 million and was provided solely by the IFC, the remaining part of $ 75 million was syndicated by IFC, Citigroup Global Markets, and ICICI. The margin for the syndicated part was LIBOR + 120 bps for the tenor of two years (with a one-year grace period).

John McNaughton, Managing Director, URSA Bank, stated: “This loan will assist us in servicing our trade finance and SME customers for up to 4 years, which will further accelerate economic expansion in the Russian regions”.

Steven Fisher, Managing Director, Corporate Bank Head, Russia and C.I.S, for Citi, added:”This transaction proved to be a very successful move for URSA Bank. The deal’s customized tenor structure with the specific support of IFC, coupled with the continuing strong growth story of URSA Bank, was the required successful combination to execute this transaction under what everyone currently views are challenging market conditions for fundraising for banks in the C.I.S.”

 Jerome Sooklal, IFC’s Director for Central and Eastern Europe, commented “We at IFC are excited to work with URSA on this transaction which will channel funds to SMEs and energy-efficient projects in the Ural and Siberia regions. URSA’s leadership role in the area is an important asset for the success of the whole operation.”

 The proceeds of the financing will be used to enable to expand trade finance operations, lending to SMEs, and lending to enterprises to finance investments in goods and services aimed at improving the efficiency of energy use in buildings, industrial processes, and other energy end-use applications.