EBRD’s Funding Package Bolsters DenizBank’s Commitment to Green Finance and Women-Led Enterprises in Türkiye

EBRD’s Funding Package Bolsters DenizBank’s Commitment to Green Finance and Women-Led Enterprises in Türkiye

(IN BRIEF) EBRD provides $143.25 million to DenizBank for green investments, women-led businesses, and earthquake response. The financing package supports DenizBank’s Diversified Payment Rights program and includes funds for on-lending to green economy projects, women-led SMEs, and companies involved in earthquake relief and reconstruction. This marks the EBRD’s first financing package with a Disaster Response Framework component since the recent earthquakes in Türkiye. DenizBank, owned by Emirates NBD Bank, is the fifth-largest private bank in the country. The investment is part of the EBRD’s efforts to support the Turkish economy, with a focus on the private sector.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 18-May-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental investment bank, is providing new funding of $143.25 million to Türkiye‘s DenizBank through a financing package that prioritizes green investments, women-led businesses, and earthquake response. The investment will be made under DenizBank’s existing Diversified Payment Rights program, a market instrument used by Turkish banks to raise long-term funding.

The financing package will be allocated through three of the EBRD’s key frameworks: the Türkiye Green Economy Financing Facility, the Women in Business program, and the Disaster Response Framework, established after the devastating earthquakes in February that caused significant loss of life and damage in the affected cities.

Of the total funds, $88.25 million will be dedicated to on-lending to companies investing in the green economy. The remaining funds will be split equally between women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country and companies involved in relief and reconstruction efforts in the disaster zone.

This marks the EBRD’s first financing package including a Disaster Response Framework component since the earthquakes. The bank has announced a comprehensive earthquake response package of up to €1.5 billion, with a significant share of €600 million allocated for partnerships with financial institutions.

Arthur Poghosyan, Deputy Head of Türkiye, Financial Institutions at the EBRD, welcomed the transaction, saying: “DenizBank is a long-standing partner of the EBRD, and we are pleased to be working with them on this very crucial project, which includes our first Disaster Response Framework financing. I am confident that joining forces will help bring relief to countless individuals and companies that have been struggling to return to normal since the heart-breaking earthquakes of 6 February.”

“We will continue to work with our financial partners to support the human capital, jobs and livelihoods in the affected regions in a bid to ensure these cities can be reintegrated into Türkiye’s economy. In times of crises and uncertainty, we are proud to be a solid partner for financial institutions and the Turkish economy as a whole.”

DenizBank, a previous EBRD client and fully owned by Emirates NBD Bank, is the fifth-largest private bank in Türkiye, operating across all 81 provinces of the country.

DenizBank CEO Hakan Ateş highlighted the benefits of securing long-term and cost-effective funding from abroad, adding: “A significant part of this funding will be used to finance green projects in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency and women entrepreneurs with limited access to finance. In addition, we will continue to increase the efforts we have been making to aid the recovery of the people and businesses affected by the earthquakes, using the funding to help restore the region after the greatest natural disaster in the history of Türkiye.”

The Türkiye Green Economy Financing Facility includes €500 million in funds from the EBRD, concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), and grants from the CTF and Türkiye-EBRD Cooperation Fund. DenizBank will receive a technical assistance package to support its corporate climate governance and on-lending practices. Technical assistance will focus on climate-related financial disclosures and recommendations developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Furthermore, women-led businesses will benefit from risk-sharing through the Turkish Credit Guarantee Fund and Türkiye’s Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The facility is part of the €600 million EBRD TurWiB II Program, which provides financing and technical support to women-led businesses in Türkiye, with previous phases co-funded by the European Union.

The EBRD has invested over €17.5 billion in various sectors of the Turkish economy, primarily in the private sector.

Media contact:

Tel: +44 207 338 7805
Email: press@ebrd.com

SOURCE: EBRD