Sayenko Kharenko, working with the London office of Herbert Smith Freehills, has advised the IFC on two EUR 20 million risk-sharing facilities for OTP Bank and OTP Leasing in Ukraine.
According to the firm, the IFC "will share half the risk on an aggregate portfolio of EUR 40 million to be extended to medium-sized enterprises across Ukraine, especially those in agribusiness or women-owned businesses."
These are the first risk-sharing facilities the IFC provides in Ukraine under the IFC’s Small Loan Guarantee Program supported by the European Commission. "These instruments are expected to help preserve jobs, provide essential goods and services, restore supply chains, and generate exports and fiscal revenues," the firm reported.
The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has a strong focus on the private sector in emerging markets. In fiscal year 2022, it committed USD 32.8 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries.
Most recently, Sayenko Kharenko had also advised the IFC on an approximately USD 11 million loan to Bank Alliance in Ukraine for the financing of SMEs, with a focus on agriculture (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on February 22, 2022).
The Sayenko Kharenko team was led by Partner Igor Lozenko and included Senior Associates Oles Trachuk and Denis Nakonechnyi and Junior Associates Yevgen Koval, Polina Savinska, and Sofya Tatarinova.