European Bank issued the following announcement on  Feb. 4.

Small businesses in Turkey will have greater access to much-needed local currency funding thanks to a TRY 100 million loan provided by the EBRD to TAM Faktoring, a fast-growing factoring firm.

Factoring is a financial tool for both addressing working capital needs for small businesses and fostering an enabling business environment.

TAM Faktoring focuses primarily on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and operates through a retail network of 33 branches in 21 cities.  

The EBRD financing to the company will directly benefit MSMEs, which employ nearly three in four people and constitute 55 per cent of the country’s GDP, yet have limited access to traditional bank finance.

The loan, denominated in Turkish lira, is part of the EBRD’s continued support for local currency financing in the country. Increasing access to long-term and stable financing for non-bank financial institutions, especially in Turkish lira, is essential to the recovery of the Turkish economy.

The EBRD is a 9.5 per cent shareholder in TAM Faktoring and to date has provided a total of TRY 80 million in lending.

The EBRD has invested over €11 billion in 283 projects in Turkey since 2009, with a focus on investment in sustainable energy, improving infrastructure, strengthening the competitiveness of the private sector, deepening capital and local currency markets, and promoting regional and youth inclusion and gender equality. The overwhelming majority of EBRD investments in the country are in the private sector.

Last year alone the Bank invested over €1 billion in Turkey, of which one-third – €331 million – was extended in local currency.

Original source can be found here.