YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS.  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will make $40 million investment in Ameriabank shares. As “Armenpress” was informed from the official website of EBRD, the project is an equity investment of USD 40 mln (AMD 20 bln equivalent) for the subscription to the newly issued shares of Ameriabank CJSC, one of the leading private Armenian banks. The investment is structured in two stages: USD 30 mln (c. AMD 15 bln equivalent) is invested initially to obtain c. 20.6% stake of the bank's capital and voting rights and further USD 10 mln will be used for future capital increases.

The operation will support Ameriabank's capitalization and facilitate achieving its strategic growth targets with ultimate aim of achieving an IPO. The bank will have an increased capability to provide
financing to SMEs, large local corporates and individuals combined with better services and more sophisticated products and solutions, resulting in an increase in financial intermediation in the country
and improved access to finance. Supporting the bank's M&A activities will assist in consolidation and strengthening of the fragmented banking sector.

Transition impact will come from facilitating Ameriabank's pre-IPO growth plans, which would support market expansion and increased financial intermediation in Armenia. EBRD will also contribute to improving corporate governance through the nomination of an EBRD representative to the Board and implementation of a pre-IPO Corporate Governance Action Plan.

Ameriabank is one of the leading banks in Armenia and is the largest by assets and client deposits, with, respectively c. 11% and 13.5% market share at YE2014. The bank has been EBRD client since 2010 and received EBRD funding through Trade Facilitation Facility (TFP), SME and energy efficiency credit lines.