Standard Chartered and MIGA announce EUR 114 million financing for National Bank of Uzbekistan
Summary
The SLPs aim to create a high-level framework of market standards and guidelines, providing a consistent methodology for use across the social loan market.Standard Chartered acted as mandated lead arranger, social loan coordinator, bookrunner, original lender, structuring bank and facility agent. The other lender and mandated lead arranger is Landesbank Baden-W\xfcrttemberg.This important financing reflects NBUs strategy to help the SME segment, which plays a pivotal role in Uzbekistans growth and job creation. Equally, it demonstrates the business case and financial viability of lending to SMEs, paving the way for other financial institutions to do the same.Saif Malik, UK CEO and Regional Head, Client Coverage of UK and T\xfcrkiye at Standard Chartered Bank, said: We are proud to leverage our strong partnership with the National Bank of Uzbekistan and MIGA to encourage a greater flow of private capital for developing the SME sector, a socially impactful project.MIGAs guarantee will enable NBU to diversify its funding sources from traditional official development assistance and bilateral sources. By integrating this ESMS into NBUs existing credit process, the bank will sustain effective environmental and social frameworks. This integration will empower NBU to assess, manage, and monitor risks and impacts associated with subprojects while responsibly managing the overall portfolio risk.Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President of MIGA, said: MIGAs guarantees play a crucial role in bringing much-needed capital to developing countries, facilitating building of a sustainable economy.