WCS COVID OBS (IFC-44087)

Countries
  • Serbia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
FI
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jul 2, 2020
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
OPPORTUNITY BANK SERBIA
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 14.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 14.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Jun 27, 2021

Disclosed by Bank Jun 23, 2020

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

Opportunity Bank a.d. Novi Sad (“OBS” or “the Bank”) was established in 2002 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Opportunity Transformation Investments Inc. (“OTI”), a holding company owned by charitable organization Opportunity International. The Bank is the largest lender to the micro enterprises segment in Serbia. OBS operates through network of 30 branches across the country. International Finance Corporation proposed financing of up to US$ 14.5 million (Euro equivalent) under the FIG COVID-19 Emergency Response Working Capital Solutions Envelope (WCS Envelope), is designed to provide funding to trade-related or working capital loans to companies whose cash flows have been disrupted by the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. IFC financing will support the Bank's working capital and trade-related lending program to Serbian enterprises, including small and medium enterprises.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

OTI is the sole owner of OBS. OTI is the investment arm of Opportunity International, a network of banks and microfinance organizations founded in Chicago in 1971. OI operates through 39 microfinance institutions in Africa, Eastern Europe, Central and East Asia and Latin America, which helps 4.7 million clients in 22 developing countries expand businesses, create jobs for their neighbors and build a safety net of savings and insurance.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Opportunity Bank A.D

Executive Board member
+381.21.4893.170
zsedlar@obs.rs
Bul.Oslobodenja 2a, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
www.obs.rs

 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/

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