Financial Institutions Day took place in Minsk on May 14. It was the second event of the kind. Last year the key partners and clients of Belarusbank met in the Castle of Mir, while this year the event was organized on the premises of the Manor of the Wankowicz Family in Minsk. Among more than 100 participants of the forum there were representatives of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and other countries.
This year’s forum was timed to the release of Belarusbank’s 2018 IFRS statements. However informing foreign partner’s and clients about the bank’s performance was just one of the objectives of the event. Another one was to provide them with an opportunity to discuss vital issues in a free format.
Presentations and the panel discussion covered a wide range of topics, including Belarus’ investment climate, promising areas of cooperation between domestic and Western business circles, demonstration of the potential of Belarusbank, the activity of which is aimed at the support of clients and the national economy.
According to Minister of Economy Dmitry Krutoy, Belarus needs more platforms of the kind which could gather a wide circle of most progressive experts in investments, finance and economy for the purpose of communication and discussion of the further development of the bank, the financial system and the Republic of Belarus in general.
Today Belarusbank is the core bank of the country. It holds the leading position in terms of assets, equity, loans attracted to the national economy and deposits. In 2018 the volume of foreign funding brought to the national economy made $2bn. Belarusbank services around one fourth of the country’s foreign trade turnover.
According to Chairman of the Board of Belarusbank Viktar Ananich, the bank is constantly building up relationships with new partners, which contributes to the further diversification of the sources of loan resources, enhances competition between lenders and ultimately improves the conditions of foreign borrowings, thus enabling the bank to offer more affordable project finance instruments to its clients.
The bank is actively cooperating with the European Investment Bank in the sphere of SME finance. In April the bank signed a loan agreement with China to the tune of EUR 100m. An RMB credit line for financing the residents of Great Stone China-Belarus Industrial Park may be attracted in the near future. Belarusbank CEO placed a special emphasis on the bank’s well-coordinated work with partners.
Speaking about plans for the year, Viktar Ananich mentioned the possibility of the bank’s participation in a number of large-scale investment projects in the spheres of power engineering, petrochemical industry, mining and processing. In addition, the bank is planning to join its partners in the implementation of initiatives connected with the development of machine-building industry and replenishment of the rolling stock of Belarusian Railways. Most projects are already at the stage of preparation, with possible financing mechanisms being elaborated.
Nevertheless the focus of the bank does not only lie on big players. Last year Belarusbank became the leader in the field of SME support. According to the Chairman of the Board, this year the bank is planning to keep the leading position:
Representatives of the bank hope that the Financial Institutions Day will become a regular event. It is expected to invigorate the interest of financial institutions in the Belarusian market, which consequently will enable Belarus to raise finance on favorable conditions. It is important to note that many large-scale projects in this country have been implemented in collaboration with foreign partners.
According to Head of EBRD Belarus Office Alexander Pivovarski, the forum is a perfect planform for informing potential investors about the advantages of doing business in Belarus, as well as getting to know their opinion about the country:
“It is also a chance to learn about the latest economic developments and new emerging projects”.
Presently Belarusbank has 100 partner banks in 35 countries. The bank’s clients have the opportunity to obtain finance for their foreign trade contracts with counterparties from any part of the world. The bank is ready to participate in large-scale investment projects in various fields of economy.
The bank has successfully functioning representative offices abroad. Belarusbank maintains correspondent relations with more than 700 banks.
Communications Department