The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan of up to US$ 58 million to Turk Ekonomi Bankasi A.S. (TEB) in support of local small businesses facing liquidity shortages due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The EBRD funds will be on-lent as short-term capital and liquidity support to private companies with a special focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by a severe fall in demand.

The new loans follows €1.7 billion of investment provided by the EBRD for the Turkish economy in 2020, helping businesses adapt to the pandemic and addressing people’s urgent needs.

Founded in 1927, TEB is the seventh largest private bank in Turkey. It has a strategic partnership with BNP Paribas, providing banking services to retail, corporate and SME clients.

The EBRD loan comes under the Bank’s Resilience Framework, a set of measures to support existing clients affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis. Following the outbreak of the pandemic, the EBRD significantly stepped up its engagement and expects to dedicate the entirety of its investment of up to €21 billion in the period 2020-21 to combat the impact of Covid-19.

The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey and to date, the Bank has invested almost €13 billion in the country through 334 projects, 95 per cent of which is in the private sector. The EBRD’s €7 billion portfolio in Turkey is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests.