On 6 January, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Credit Agricole Ukraine (CAU) signed a Risk Sharing Framework (RSF) agreement for €50 million to enhance the capacity of the bank to make loans to a greater number of Ukrainian companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The signing of the risk participation agreement makes Credit Agricole Ukraine the fourth partner bank in the EBRD’s Unfunded Non-Recourse Risk Sharing Framework in Ukraine, joining Ukrsibbank BNP Paribas Group, Raiffeisen Bank and Piraeus Bank.
Under the programme, the EBRD will share the risk on individual loans of above €5 million equivalent made by Credit Agricole Ukraine to corporates of all sizes, up to a total limit of €50 million. CAU will be able to use the capital capacity freed up by the arrangement to also expand its lending to SMEs.
The RSF will enhance Credit Agricole Ukraine’s lending capacity to provide much-needed funding to private companies, operating in agri-related industries and other critical industries including energy security, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, construction, transportation and logistics, supporting the survival and reconstruction of private businesses, as well as preserving livelihoods in Ukraine during the war.
It will also support Credit Agricole’s strategy for continuing sustainable growth through wider regional and sectoral reach, and will allow the bank to meet the bigger financing needs of its clients, while keeping its risk-weighted assets under control.
