President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko approved the Development Bank's initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses. This was discussed on March 16 during a report to the Head of State by Chairman of the Board of the Open Joint Stock Company "Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus" Sergei Rumas, according to a BELTA correspondent.
President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko approved the Development Bank's initiatives to support small and medium-sized businesses. This was discussed on March 16 during a report to the Head of State by Chairman of the Board of the Open Joint Stock Company "Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus" Sergei Rumas, according to a BELTA correspondent.
The President was informed about the Development Bank's initiatives in supporting small and medium-sized businesses. Alexander Lukashenko inquired in detail about which projects had been financed and what entrepreneurs had received from such support through the Development Bank. As Sergei Rumas noted, the program, which the Development Bank runs jointly with 9 partner banks for lending investment projects in the sphere of small and medium-sized businesses, is already yielding results. In particular, in 2014, 99 projects in the sphere of small and medium-sized businesses were financed, with the Development Bank's credit support amounting to Br90 billion. At the same time, the total cost of projects in which entrepreneurs participated with their own funds amounted to Br650 billion. Sergei Rumas noted that this year, Br150 billion has already been provided to commercial banks, and it is planned to provide support to small and medium-sized businesses within the framework of this program alone for a total of Br700 billion.
The Development Bank has submitted proposals for several more initiatives concerning the support of small and medium-sized businesses, and these initiatives have been approved by the Head of State. Sergei Rumas did not go into detail, noting that these projects will become known to entrepreneurs in the near future.
The President was interested in the results of the Development Bank's work in 2014.
The Head of State was thoroughly briefed on export support by both the Development Bank and its subsidiary company OJSC "Promagroleasing". Alexander Lukashenko emphasized the need to diversify export product supplies, not limiting themselves to traditional trading partners.
Regarding the results of the Development Bank's activities for 2014, the bank's assets grew by 33%, while the banking system's assets grew by 22%. "The Development Bank continues to remain the leader in qualitative indicators such as profit, aggregate profit, profit per employee, and operational profitability," noted Sergey Rumas.
The Head of State was also informed about the completion of work to designate the Development Bank as the sole coordinator in the lending for state programs. "We expect that already in 2015, using the example of one industry, we will be able to implement those elements of competitive selection and competitive support for the most significant projects included in state programs," said Sergey Rumas.
During the report, the topic of family capital was touched upon. The President was informed that starting from the second quarter, the Development Bank will begin to perform the function of managing family capital.
News of Belarus (BELTA)