Ardshinbank has signed a $25 million one-year Club Trade Finance Facility arranged by Citi with the Asian Development Bank (ADB). ADB is supporting a portion of the facility through its Trade Finance Program (TFP) in the form of a guarantee.
This is the first Club Trade Finance Facility arranged by Citi for Ardshinbank. Proceeds of this will support import and export transactions for top corporate customers of Ardshinbank, increasing the volume and value of trade transactions in Armenia’s key economic sectors, including energy, mining, and services.
“We are pleased to be at the forefront of providing much needed trade finance products to our corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients. It will not only diversify and strengthen our client base, but also serve our purpose to contribute to sustainable economic growth in Armenia,” said Mher Grigoryan, Ardshinbank’s Chief Executive Officer. “I would like to thank Citi, our long-term partner, and ADB for a fruitful collaboration and successful completion of the transaction.”
“We aim to deliver bespoke and best in class trade solutions at Citi. The firm’s global reach and expertise in financing trade flows puts us in the ideal position to help support progress and growth in developing markets,” said Chafic Haddad, EMEA Head of Financial Institutions and Correspondent Banking, Treasury and Trade Solutions at Citi. “By facilitating this landmark Club Trade Finance Facility for Ardshinbank, we have been able to form a partnership with a number of industry professionals to ensure we can provide the ideal solution for Ardshinbank’s trade financing needs.”
“ADB is delighted to be part of this transaction with Ardshinbank and Citi,” said Nana Khurodze, Relationship Manager at ADB. “Through this facility, Ardshinbank will be able to grow its trade finance operations to support more importing and exporting companies, including small and medium-sized businesses. This will support growth and job creation in Armenia.”
ADB’s TFP in Armenia has supported over $55.9 million in trade through 159 transactions since 2012, 95.6% of which have been SME-related deals.