EBL gets USD 35 million loan from IFC

Eastern Bank PLC (EBL) received a US$35 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, to support its working capital and trade-related lending programme.

The formal loan agreement between IFC and EBL was signed today at the bank's head office in Dhaka.

Ali Reza Iftekhar, EBL's managing director and CEO, said, "EBL is a strong partner in Bangladesh's growth and development. This partnership with IFC will help us extend working capital and trade finance solutions to local Corporations and SMEs."

Allen Forlemu, IFC Regional Industry Director of the Financial Institutions Group for Asia and the Pacific, said, "IFC's investment in Eastern Bank PLC underscores our long-standing commitment to strengthening Bangladesh's financial sector and expanding access to finance for MSMEs. Small businesses are the backbone of the country's economy, driving employment and innovation.

This investment will provide much-needed liquidity to help SMEs grow, trade, and build resilience in an evolving economic landscape. We are proud to partner with Eastern Bank PLC to support Bangladesh's private sector and foster sustainable economic development."

Eastern Bank is considered a market leader in corporate banking, able to finance everything from large-scale infrastructure and manufacturing projects to complex trade transactions. EBL manages 5% of the country's total trade business and considers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a core component of its growth strategy. To foster growth within this sector, EBL offers customer-tailored lending to SMEs.