BSTDB portfolio exceeded two billion Euro, up by 12 percent in 2020

The Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) held its 23rd Annual Meeting in a virtual session today.

Under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Armenia, the Board reviewed and approved the Bank’s financial statements for 2020. The Board of Directors approved 22 new operations for over EUR 771 million in 2020. New commitments reached a total of EUR 624 million. Despite the challenging pandemic conditions, the Bank maintained its portfolio growth and quality.   During the year the Bank refocused its activities to assisting SMEs and other firms to cope with the pandemic crisis, with an emphasis on bridge financing and working capital support to existing clients. The BSTDB’s portfolio exceeded EUR 2 billion at the year-end, marking a 12% increase over 2019 results. The Bank maintained its profitability for sixteenth consecutive year, with a net profit of EUR 14.2 million.

The Board elected the Governor for the Republic of Azerbaijan as Chairman of the Board of Governors. The Governors for the Republic of Bulgaria and for Georgia were elected as Deputy Chairs, for a period of one year. The Bank’s next Annual Meeting and associated events will be hosted by Azerbaijan.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s, “A2” by Moody’s and “A+” by the Russian credit rating agency ACRA.