The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and Ameriabank have signed a $15 million loan agreement aimed at financing small and medium-sized businesses (SME) in Armenia, which are one of the main drivers of the Armenian economy. Supporting SME sector development is a common objective and key priority for both banks.  Under this loan facility small and medium-sized businesses will be able to obtain long-term financing to expand their business operations, strengthen their competitiveness and create new jobs. 
“Ameriabank is honored to continue developing its valuable partnership with BSTDB. This new agreement will help the bank to further strengthen its position in the SME lending market and to magnify its contribution to the development of the country’s economy”, said Artak Hanesyan, CEO of Ameriabank.
“This is BSTDB’s second SME facility to Ameriabank. We are happy to develop further our cooperation with this market leader in implementing our country strategy for Armenia aimed at increasing the Bank’s support for the economy, SME sector in particular”, commented Igor Leshukov, BSTDB Vice President Banking.

About BSTDB
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 and “A2” by Moody’s. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.