ARMECONOMBANK OJSC
Who is our client
Armeconombank (“AEB”) in the Republic of Armenia is a top-10 Armenian mid-sized universal bank with a focus on MSME/Retail. AEB reports Total Assets ~USD 430m, Equity USD 69m and RoE 6.9%. With ~873 staff, AEB operates in the top-5 banking network in the country, with 51 branches. FMO has partnered with AEB previously, between 2010 and Dec-2013.
Funding objective
The new 5-year senior unsecured loan of up to USD 20 million, will be fully used to finance eligible sub-loans under FMO’s Reducing Inequalities label. The purpose of the loan is to finance Micro clients and Youth/Women SME customers of AEB. This will contribute to SDG 10 (Reducing Inequalities).
Why we fund this project
FMO's loan will be used by AEB to finance their Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) portfolio. MSME are the core of the Armenian economy. The private sector in Armenia is dominated by MSME’s, making up about 98% of total registered enterprises. However, they contribute only for ~25% of GDP and ~33% of employment (source: EIB). Armenia ranks #97 out of 144 countries in the 2017 global gender report of the World Economic Forum. Access to credit remains critical for further development of the MSME segment. More specifically, the loan proceeds will be used to finance a combination of Micro clients and eligible women/youth clients of AEB (contributing to SDGs 5, 8 and 10). In turn, this supports job creation and maintenance in a Low to Middle Income Country (LMIC) where 12% of the population live below the poverty line (Worldbank, $3.2/day poverty line) and unemployment rate is ~18% (39% for youth).
Environmental and social rationale
The project has been categorised as Category C in accordance with FMO’s Sustainability Policy. The Project’s activities are deemed to have minimal or no adverse environmental and social risks and/or impacts. As part of the Project, the bank will be required to apply the EDFI Exclusion List and (Country) E&S laws and regulations.
More investments
| Date | Total FMO financing |
|---|---|
| 5/5/2020 | USD 10.00 MLN |
| 5/5/2020 | EUR 5.00 MLN |
| 5/17/2019 | USD 5.00 MLN |
- Website client
- http://www.aeb.am
- Region
- Europe & Central Asia
- Country
- Armenia
- Sector
- Financial Institutions
- Signing date
- 5/15/2019
- Total FMO financing
- USD 10.00 MLN
- Fund
- FMO
-
Risk categorization on environmental and social impacts, A = high risk, B+ = medium high risk, B = medium risk, C = low risk
Environmental & Social Category
(A, B+, B or C) - C