In the New Year the Russian Bank for Development officially thanked Center-invest Bank for its participation in the SME financial support programme in 2008.

In May 2008 Center-invest Bank and the Russian Bank for Development signed an agreement opening a RUR160m credit line for Center-invest to finance SMEs in southern Russia. In June, an additional credit line for RUR190m was opened. In total, more than RUR500m has been made available under credit lines for SMEs in southern Russia.

Center-invest ranks 14th among Russia's largest banks in terms of volume of SME lending and 15th in terms of the number of loans issued to SMEs in the first half of 2008 (RBC.ru rating).

In 2008 Center-invest Bank issued a total of RUR 17.5 billion in SME loans.

Center-invest Bank has been running programmes to support SMEs in southern Russia for ten years. Already, 37,000 SMEs and self-employed individuals bank with Center-invest.

With Center-invest Bank's support, a legal advice hotline for SMEs has been running for over three years. So far, it has provided businesses in the Rostov region with more than 6,000 free consulations (www.hotline.centrinvest.ru).