Intercommercial Bank S.A. Albania

MIGA provided the Commercial Bank of Greece S.A. with a $7 million guarantee to cover its equity investment in the Intercommercial Bank S.A. Albania, one of its subsidiaries. The investment will be protected against transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance. The project will introduce a number of financial services previously unavailable in Albania, an IDA-eligible country. Currently, the bank has only one location, in Tirana, but other branches and offices are planned.

The project will broaden the range and quality of financial services in Albania, especially in project finance, trade finance, and money market activities. It will also increase the availability of medium- and long-term capital to SMEs and retail firms, and provide them with lower costs of funding. The target for these services includes small and medium-size domestic firms and domestic retail companies, as well as foreign companies. The project supports the government's financial sector reform and privatization program, and is expected to provide training to its 60 new local employees.