Vneshtorgbank will lend small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) US$1bn this year, said bank head Andrey Kostin after a meeting with President Vladimir Putin last week.
No Russian commercial bank currently has a small business lending programme of its own, though there are a few banks that lend to small companies through funds provided by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Putin has called the small business sector a top priority, but efforts to reform relevant legislation have done little to boost statistics.
SMEs account for less than 15 per cent of gross domestic product, according to the State Statistics Committee. In the European Union that figure is close to 60 per cent.
If Vneshtorgbank makes good its promise to lend out US$1bn, it would constitute the largest investment by a single organisation in the direction of small business reform.
