International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a loan of US $55 million to Siddhartha Bank Limited (SBL).
It is perhaps the biggest loan amount provided by the IFC to a Nepali bank till date. IFC’s loan is the first ever foreign currency syndicated loan facility in the financial sector categorized as external commercial borrowing to a bank in Nepal.
According to a press statement issued by the SBL, the loan provided by the IFC shall be used for MSME and Climate Financing.
The SBL has been focusing on enhancing its MSME portfolio. The bank says the loan will help the bank to achieve its objective.
In addition, the SBL shall also be using the loan for increasing its portfolio in climate-friendly projects which shall be financing of energy efficiency projects such as solar projects, low carbon mobility projects such as electric vehicles, water efficiency projects, climate smart agriculture and manufacturing of energy efficient appliances, among others.
The SBL is a member of IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program and was recently awarded by the IFC as the Best Operations Bank in South Asia 2021. It intends to be the Digital First Bank for Sustainable Growth and has been constantly focusing on digitization and business process re-engineering.
The SBL with an asset size of Rs 273.83 billion has a deposit base of Rs 216.96 billion. The bank has provided loans worth Rs 189.54 billion. It operates 195 branches, 223 ATMs and 1,744 POS spread across the country.
