EBL to get $40m from German, Dutch lenders

Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) has recently signed a term loan agreement for $40 million with German Investment Corporation - DEG and Netherlands Development Finance Company - FMO.

DEG-FMO will fund EBL in foreign currency to provide financing to corporate, green businesses and SME customers at competitive pricing, the bank said in a statement.

The funds will be routed through EBL's offshore banking. EBL as a leading bank in Bangladesh continues funding infrastructural, sustainable and environment focused projects nationwide through strong support from major development finance (DFI) partners, including DEG and FMO.

"This is yet another major milestone for all the parties affiliated in this deal. It reflects the long standing partnership EBL has nurtured with DEG and FMO," said Ali Reza Iftekhar, managing director and CEO of EBL.

"Through this agreement, we can ensure channelling the funds to the most required sectors in Bangladesh. We look forward to closely working with DEG and FMO in the coming days to contribute meaningfully in Bangladesh's journey to the next stage."

The EBL CEO spoke after signing the agreement with Petra Kotte, senior director for financial institutions and German business at DEG, and Huib-Jan de Ruijter, member of FMO's executive committee and director for financial institutions.

EBL organised the deal signing ceremony through a virtual platform on July 16.

"With this commitment we are helping a successful local commercial bank to carry on its lending business for small and medium enterprises even in the current situation," said Kotte.

"We are glad to support a key partner in Bangladesh such as Eastern Bank to further promote the SME and green segment particularly during these times of increased operational challenges posed by Covid-19," said Ruijter.

Ahmed Shaheen, EBL's deputy managing director and head of corporate banking; Md Obaidul Islam, head of international business; Jeroen Kingma, DEG's senior investment manager financial institutions Europe and Asia; Adina Ghilerdea, FMO's senior portfolio analyst, and Evangelos Alamaniotis, investment officer, also took part in the event.