ABC Bank has secured a Sh555 million loan from European Investment Bank (EIB) for long-term lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The credit from EIB is a top-up of a previous Sh770 million ABC Bank received in 2012 from the European Union-owned bank.
“We have effectively utilised the earlier facility in lending to our SME clients at competitive rates and for longer tenures. As a result, we have witnessed exponential growth in our customers’ businesses, which is in line with our mission of empowering customers to achieve the extra-ordinary,’’ said ABC Bank Group managing director Shamaz Savani.
The euro-denominated loan will also help ABC Bank fund Kenyan businesses that generate revenues in foreign currencies. SMEs have been keen to borrow in dollars or euros to cushion earnings from currency risks in a market where the shilling exchange rate is volatile.
ABC plans to shore up its capital base with a Sh1.5 billion private placement before year-end to help it grow business. The third-tier lender raised Sh1 billion from a corporate bond last year that was 157 per cent oversubscribed.
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