Sekerbank is a mid-tier Turkish bank established in 1953. Although the Bank has expanded and diversified its products and client base, its traditional area of strength remained MSME lending. Currently, the Bank has 4,088 employees and 250 branches in Turkey including in rural areas in the Central and Eastern parts of the country.

Around 68.0% of Sekerbank shares are controlled by its Employee Voluntary Pension Fund and Kazakhstan''s BTA Securities JSC, a 100% subsidiary of BTA Bank JSC, on an equal basis. The rest of bank’s shares are publicly traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Total project cost is estimated at USD95 million.

93.99 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	43.99
Equity	50.0

* These investment figures are indicative

Sekerbank is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey and has 250 branches.

In the current international financial crisis, the senior loan facility would provide with medium-term funding for on-lending to the underserved agribusiness sector. Through increased access to finance, Turkish farmers and entrepreneurs would be able to meet their funding needs and thereby contribute to economic growth and job creation, promoting better corporate governance and increased capacity.

Unavailability of long-term funding has traditionally been one of the critical issues limiting access to finance for farmers and smaller-scale agricultural companies. In this context, IFC’s additionality derives from its ability to provide funding with longer maturities and better amortization patterns than are readily available in the market.

For this Category FI project, IFC is reviewing Seker Bank''s risk management systems and capacity in terms of performing the necessary social and environmental due diligence against the applicable performance requirements and the Bank''s labor practices against IFC''s Performance Standard 2: Labor and Working Conditions. Seker Bank is an existing IFC client with requirements to screen investments against the IFC Exclusion List and to ensure compliance with the applicable national health, safety, and environmental regulations as well as providing an annual report. As part of the appraisal, IFC will determine if the requirements should be extended to include the IFC Performance Standards as well.

Based on IFC''s review, Sekerbank will be required to upgrade, if necessary, and commit to implementing the Social & Environmental Management System (SEMS) to ensure compliance with the applicable performance requirements, which could also include the IFC Performance Standards; identify responsible, qualified persons to manage and implement the SEMS; and continue to submit a periodic report to IFC as per a format to be provided by IFC.