EBL MSME (IFC-50241)

Countries
  • Bangladesh
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
B
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
Dec 18, 2024
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
EASTERN BANK PLC
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Finance
  • Industry and Trade
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)
$ 35.00 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.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 160.00 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 Mar 16, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Nov 11, 2024

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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.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed project consists of a senior loan of up to US$50 million to Eastern Bank PLC (“Eastern Bank” or “Bank”) in Bangladesh with a tenor of two years and with an option to rollover for an additional two years for a maximum tenor of four years. The proceeds of the investment will be used to meet the bank's immediate liquidity needs and extend loans to eligible sub-borrowers (export/import-based SMEs as per IFC’s definition of targeted sectors) through its offshore banking units (OBU) to enable the Bank to continue to support key sectors of the Bangladeshi economy affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent global economic headwinds.The Project will be supported by a pooled first loss guarantee of up to US$40 million provided by International Development Agency IDA Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility (IDA-PSW BFF).

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The proposed project entails a senior loan to EBL for financing short to medium term working capital and trade finance loans to small and medium enterprises (SME) and corporates. The Bank is involved in providing long and medium-term financing to corporates, and micro, small and medium enterprises by way of working capital, term loans, project and structured finance, and syndications. It also provides several short-term products as well as non-funded products like bank guarantees. SME sectors of exposure include readymade garment industry, textile and spinning mills, light engineering, plastic, paper, packaging and printing, pharmaceuticals industry, electrical and electronics industry, and other trade and services sector. IFC’s loan will not be used to finance any activities in the Exclusion List, any coal related activities or higher risk activities that may include involuntary resettlement, risk of adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples, significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, significant retrenchment, or significant occupational health and safety risks. Hence, the E&S risk of the proposed investment is medium, and the project is categorized as FI-2 according to IFC's Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The proposed investment is a US$ denominated senior loan of up to US$ 50 million with 2-years tenor renewable for an additional 2 years for up to 4-year maturity.

The project is part of a country envelope that is supported by a pooled first loss guarantee of up to US$40 million provided by IFC acting as implementing entity of the IDA-PSW BFF. Without the concessionality provided by the IDA-PSW BFF, the projects under the envelope would not be bankable due to a challenging risk environment. The level of concessionality (i.e., “subsidy”) provided to the country envelope is estimated to be approximately 3.5% of the total envelope size of US$160 million.

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board: Loan 35.0 million (USD)

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.

Eastern Bank PLC (“Eastern Bank”) is one of the reputed private commercial banks in Bangladesh incorporated in 1992. The Bank is listed in both of the Stock Exchanges of Bangladesh. As of 29 February 2024, Eastern Bank is 30.67% owned by its directors and sponsors, 47.05% owned by institutional investors, 0.08% by foreign institutions, and 22.20% are publicly traded.


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.

Eastern Bank PLC
MGK Jewel
Senior Relationship Manager
+88 09666777325
mgk.jewel@ebl-bd.com
Head Office, 100 Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka 1212
www.ebl.com.bd

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

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

How it works

How it works