Vneshtorgbank and Moscow Narodny Bank have been appointed as mandated lead arrangers to arrange a debut €15mn trade-related syndicated term loan facility for Belagroprombank (Republic of Belarus).

The loan will have maturity of one-year with an extension option of an additional one-year. The loan will pay interest at a floating rate of Euribor + 4% per year.

Belagroprombank (BAPB) was founded in 1991 and is the second largest bank in Belarus by assets and equity. As of January 1, 2006 the equity of BAPB amounted to €500mn. It was ranked the 46th largest bank in the CIS in 2005 by assets according to Interfax-1000. BAPB is rated by B-/B by Fitch with stable outlook and individual rating D/E with  support rating 5.

The bank is 99% state owned and specialises in corporate banking, mainly to the agri-producing sector and lending under government programmes. In recent years BAPB has developed a strong position in the Belarusian retail banking market.

BAPB has the second largest branch network in Belarus with 272 local branches and outlets throughout the country, which service some 27,000 legal entities and 600,000 individuals. At the end of 2005 BAPB had a 16% market share of the corporate lending market in Belarus and 25% of the retail deposit market.

This will be the third Belarusian bank financing to come to the international markets in 2006 after Belarusbank earlier this year and the recently announced deal for Belpromstroibank. The facility for Belagroprombank will have the longest maturity compared to the other two financings.