You're reading: EBRD confirms interest to enter capital of Oschadbank

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has confirmed its interest to enter the capital of state-owned Oschadbank.

The EBRD believes in Ukrainian and their country, and it is time that the EBRD continues working and takes a stake in Oschadbank, EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said at a meeting of the National Investment Council in Kyiv on Friday.

He said that the bank’s entering the Oschadbank’s capital could be a serious driver.

As reported, the Finance Ministry of Ukraine plans to attract minority investment from international financial institutions (IFIs) to state-owned Oschadbank (based in Kyiv) in coming years. It is planned to sell 20 percent of the bank’s shares by late 2020 and bring the bank to an initial public offering (IPO) to place 25% of shares by late 2022.

As reported, the EBRD Board on October 4 decided to provide a facility of up to €50 million under the Trade Facilitation Programme for Oschadbank.

The project is undertaken within a broader effort aimed at facilitating Oschadbank’s commercialization and preparation for eventual privatization in the context of the state-owned bank reform program that is developed and being implemented by the government of Ukraine.

This effort will include several stages of financing and Technical Cooperation over a period of up to five years, beginning with the TFP facility and an associated Technical Cooperation Project. The subsequent stages of a broader cooperation in preparation for the privatization are linked to and conditional upon the progress in improvement of corporate governance; commercialization of operations, and operational overhaul of Oschadbank.

Oschadbank was founded in 1991. Its sole owner is the state.