ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 13. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a senior unsecured loan of $25 million in Kazakh tenge equivalent to Home Credit Bank JSC, Kazakhstan, (HCBK) under the Kazakhstan Green Economy Financing Facility II (KazGEFF II), Trend reports.
According to the EBRD, the loan was approved on December 12, 2023.
As the Bank explains, the proceeds of the loan will be used to on-lend to eligible retail (and potentially SME) sub-borrowers, selected according to the technical, financial and environmental eligibility criteria in a gender responsive way.
The project will facilitate the expansion of green investments, providing positive demonstration effects of such investments, through gender-responsive on-lending to the private sector in Kazakhstan. It will also help develop the internal capacity of HCBK to finance Green Economy Transition (GET) projects and identify and fund advanced systems.
Furthermore, it will support the accelerated market penetration of green technologies, which go beyond prevailing standards. The EBRD will engage with HCBK and assist the bank with implementation of the ESG disclosure regulations and guidelines to be launched by the local regulator.
HCBK is the 13th largest bank in Kazakhstan (out of 21) with total assets of $1.2 billion, equity of $307 million and market shares of 1.3 percent in total assets, 1.9 percent in customer loans and 0.9 percent in deposits as of 1Q2023.
The bank has one million active clients and operates 17 branches and 49 offices across the country. HCBK is currently rated BB-/stable by Fitch.
