Center-invest Bank is in fifth place in the ranking “The Best Banks in the SME Lending Market in Russia in 2011”, compiled by RosBusinessConsulting (www.rbc.ru). As reported on the RBC website, in 2011, Center-invest Bank provided RUB62.6bn in SME loans, an increase of 32.2% on 2010.
Entrepreneurs in southern Russia seeking finance to start up or grow a business will find that Center-invest Bank offers the best terms. Last year, to support new businesses, the bank launched a “Start Up” programme. This programme provides preferential finance for a term of up to three years, with a six-month grace period, and free of charge business banking for the first year, including access to our business banking service “Bank-Client”.
In March 2012 Center-invest Bank began working under the Youth Business Russia programme. As well as providing access to loans on preferential terms, this programme promotes mentoring, whereby successful business people share their experience and help new businesses in the early stages.
Center-invest Bank has been promoting enterprise among young people for many years now. As part of our “Enterprise for All” project, which began in 2008, experts from the bank regularly give lectures for students and several competitions for young people and aspiring entrepreneurs are held annually. The bank has also published a school textbook to accompany a course on the principles of enterprise. This resource, written by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Center-invest Bank, Dr. Vasily Vysokov, is distributed free of charge in Don region schools. It is already being used by more than 6000 pupils in 130 schools in the Rostov region.
Center-invest Bank has been running programmes to support SMEs in southern Russia since 1997. Today, more than 44,000 SMEs and self-employed individuals bank with us.
Center-invest Bank began financing a ’hot line’ for SMEs more than five years ago. This service provides free legal consultations for businesses in the Rostov region (telephone no. (863) 262-35-15).
In the Rostov region, Center-invest Bank accounts for more than 40% of all long-term loans to SMEs for investment purposes. The bank is successfully participating in programmes run by the Loan Guarantee Funds of the Rostov and Volgograd regions, Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol Krai.
Established twenty years ago by southern Russia’s first privatized enterprises, Center-invest Bank has become known as a “reform laboratory” in the region and it has established successful partnerships with international financial institutions. It is southern Russia’s leading bank and the only one to have a Ba3 rating from Moody’s.