The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided $100 million (TL 696 million) in funding for Denizbank to support companies' investments in green technologies and businesses led by women in Turkey amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The loan with a long-term maturity of up to seven years will help make the Turkish economy more resilient, the EBRD said in a statement Friday.
"The financing is made available through an investment under Denizbank's existing Diversified Payment Rights (DPR) program, an established market instrument used by Turkish banks to raise long-term funding," the statement read.
Denizbank is planning to issue a total of $435 million, marking its return to DPR securitization under the Emirates NBD Bank's ownership.
The issuance has attracted a host of investors, including the International Finance Corporation, Credit Suisse and parent Emirates NBD Bank.
DenizBank Financial Services Group CEO Hakan Ateş said the transaction is also a testament to the improving confidence in the Turkish economy.
EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink remarked that the funding is a landmark transaction on several accounts, marking the lender's return to its DPR program and allowing the EBRD to provide new financing for female entrepreneurs and green investments by smaller businesses such as those in renewable energy, resource efficiency, waste minimization and water savings.
"And third, by joining forces with the EU, the Turkish Credit Guarantee Fund and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the EBRD and Denizbank will be able to achieve a greater impact of our financing," Rigterink said.
The funds will be equally split between the "women in business" program to finance small and medium-sized businesses led by women and the Turkey Sustainable Energy Finance Facility program in support of resource efficiency and small-scale renewable energy investments.
The European Union is supporting both initiatives with grant funding.
The new investment follows a record 893 million euros ($1.08 million) in financing to Turkish financial institutions in 2020.
The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey, and to date, the bank has invested almost 13 billion euros in the country through 334 projects, 95% of which are in the private sector.
In 2019, the Emirates NBD Bank PJSC of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) bought a 99.85% share of private lender Denizbank.
