YEREVAN, October 18. /ARKA/. The Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and Armenia-based ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK have signed a loan agreement to the tune of USD 15 million.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of a FMO-organized conference in the Dutch town of Noordwijk titled ‘The Future of Finance," ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK said today in a press release.

The Bank said the loan funds will be channeled into the development of Armenia’s small and medium-sized enterprises and the agricultural sector. The loan is multi-currency, meaning that funds will be available both in US dollars and Armenian drams.  The Bank described the agreement as the first step of direct cooperation with FMO.

ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK started to cooperate with FMO back in 2012 in the framework of a credit in the national currency. The agreement had been signed between the Bank and the EBRD with FMO acting as the second creditor.

ACBA was established in 1996 as part of EU’s TACIS program. As a result of a long-term and mutually beneficial cooperation between ACBA Bank and the French Credit Agricole the latter became the biggest shareholder of ACBA in 2006, September. ACBA was restructured, becoming a closed joint stock company and was renamed ACBA CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK.

The Dutch Development Bank (FMO) has invested a total of €8.9 billion in the economies of about 85 developing countries and is one of the largest financial organizations in the world, stimulating private sector development. -0-