IFC’s investment will help increase the availability of banking services and financial products for Kazakh small and medium enterprises at a time of limited funding opportunities in the country and the challenging global economic environment. The investment also will help the bank diversify, increase the volume of funding, and better manage its asset and liability position. The bank is a subsidiary of UniCredit Group.

“We are pleased to have this cooperation with IFC,” said Alexander Picker, Chairman of ATFBank. “IFC’s loan will help us increase our support to local enterprises and expand our role in small and medium enterprise financing in Kazakhstan.”

Edward Strawderman, IFC Senior Manager for Financial Markets in Southern Europe and Central Asia, said, “UniCredit Group is a key partner for IFC in the region, and we are pleased to establish a partnership with its subsidiary, ATFBank, to boost access to finance, the foundation for private sector growth and jobs creation in Kazakhstan. The project reflects IFC’s continued support to financial institutions in Kazakhstan.”

Kazakhstan became a member of IFC in 1993. As IFC’s largest client in Central Asia, the country has received commitments of more than US$800 million of IFC’s own funds and over US$400 million in syndications through June 2009.

IFC is the only international financial institution focused exclusively on the private sector, the engine of sustainable development in emerging markets. Along with IBRD, it is currently seeking a capital increase to strengthen its ability to create opportunity for the poor in developing countries—including by assisting financial institutions to boost available financing for small and medium enterprises, such as those in Kazakhstan.