SME lending and banking services expand across the new regions
Over seventy thousand small and medium-sized enterprises in the DPR, LPR, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions have gained access to modern banking products. Entrepreneurs have opened more than 75 thousand current accounts and deployed over 25 thousand purchasing terminals. This progress was highlighted by the PSB chairman Pyotr Fradkov during parliamentary hearings on the state of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Russian Federation.
When discussing financing and banking support for entrepreneurs in these regions, the head of the bank noted PSB’s active role in implementing the government program aimed at socio-economic development, infrastructure enhancement, and the provision of goods and services for local businesses.
Fradkov stressed that the bank has put in place government support measures for business in the new territories and acts as the steward of national programs. Since August 2023, when regional enterprises were incorporated into the unified SME register, PSB has signed concessional loan agreements and generated prepayments exceeding 120 million rubles under the umbrella guarantee program of the SME Corporation. Loan decisions totaling more than 1.8 billion rubles have been approved for about 1,500 entrepreneurs, according to the PSB chairman.
Concluding his remarks, Fradkov pointed to the significant potential for fostering a favorable environment for small and medium-sized businesses in the new Russian regions. He affirmed continued collaboration with relevant units and the Central Bank to further improve conditions for SMEs.
Earlier, PSB launched preferential business loans in the new regions of Russia. In a collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, announced at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the bank began offering loans at preferential rates to SMEs in Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson. Eligible entrepreneurs in the new regions could obtain loans up to 50 million rubles for terms up to three years for any purpose, at favorable rates not exceeding 10 percent. Up to half of the loan amount could be financed under the umbrella guarantee provided by the SME Institution.