Citi has arranged a US$25mn facility for the Bank of Georgia, in a deal which marks its first trade advance syndication facility to a bank in that country.

The one-year facility will allow the bank to support the growth of its trade finance portfolio and further strengthen its position in the corporate banking sector.

Anurag Chaudhary, global head of distribution, tells GTR: “Bank of Georgia approached us with a trade flow seeking finance, which we syndicated through a panel of investors. Before this Citi was facilitating confirmations of letters of credit with Georgian banks, but this is the first trade advance syndication in the market for Bank of Georgia.

Bank of Georgia CEO, Irakli Gilauri, says: “We are delighted to be one of the first companies in the region to take advantage of the trade finance club facility with Citi.

“The new facility is intended to meet the evolving needs of our diverse corporate client base and to reinforce our competitive advantage in the market.”