Stanbic IBTC Bank has concluded a $90 million credit facility from the FMO (Nederlands eFinancierings Maatschappijvoor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V).
The purpose of the facility is for Stanbic IBTC Bank to end to small and medium sized companies for the financing of projects in the infrastructure sector, which include agriculture, oil and gas, power, ports, telecoms and others.
The facility which will run for a term of five years was provided to Stanbic IBTC Bank by FMO along with European Financing Partners (EFP) and DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und EntwicklungsgesellschaftmbH).
The primary lender, FMO, is a Dutch development bank that was established in 1970 by the Dutch government, commercial banks, the national employers’ association, labour unions, and private investors, in order to make investments in private sector projects within developing countries and emerging markets. FMO is present as a development finance partner in over eighty different developing countries and emerging markets around the world.
The company’s mandate is to provide long term capital for projects in these countries. Thereby, maximising development impact with a methodology designed to ensure that FMO’s return on investment is not just financial but also has positive environmental and social effects.
The secondary lender, DEG, is a subsidiary of KfW andone of the largest European development finance institutions. For more than 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and emerging market countries.
DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agribusiness to infrastructure and manufacturing to services.
The financial sector is a further focus in order to facilitate reliable access to investment capital locally. DEG’s aim is to establish and expand private enterprise structures in developing and emerging countries, and thus create the basis for sustainable economic growth and a lasting improvement in the living conditions of the local population.
The Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni, said the commitment of the lenders shows the confidence they have in the Stanbic IBTC brand. He further emphasised that the facility will enable the bank continue its SME sector growth efforts and move the economy forward.
Linda Broekhuizen, FMO’s CIO commented: “This second facility to Stanbic IBTC Bank is further testimony to the long and good relationship between the Standard Bank Group and FMO. This syndicated loan facility will assist Stanbic IBTC Bank in expanding its leading role in financing of infrastructure development and providing long term funding to small and medium sized companies, contributing to job creation in Nigeria.”
Stanbic IBTC Bank has also received the ISO/IEC 27001 Certification. The certification follows an extensive and painstaking standardisation process on information security by the lender.
The ISO/IEC 27001 is an internationally recognized best practice framework for an information security management system, which helps businesses to identify risks to important information while putting in place the appropriate controls to help reduce such risks.
Strategic Delivery Director at British Standards Institution (BSI), Mr. Pietro Foschi, said the lender complied with the requirements of ISO/IEC 27001 certification, which entails development, operations and maintenance of the processes related to services provided and managed by the bank’s Information and Technology (ICT) Department.
Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni, commended the bank’s team for making the certification possible. He noted that the award is in recognition of the pivotal role of information security management to growth and innovation, which is in turn dependent on having a secure and robust platform that enhances efficiency in service delivery and customer satisfaction.
“We are delighted about the ISO/IEC 27001 certification. We appreciate it as yet another demonstration of our drive to improve service delivery across various channels. Stanbic IBTC will continue to deliver exceptional performances across all segments of the business,” he said.
Among the benefits of the ISO/IEC 27001 certification include identifying risks and putting controls in place to manage or reduce the risks; flexibility in adapting controls to all or selected areas of the business; gaining stakeholder and customer trust via data protection; and demonstrating compliance and gaining status as a preferred institution.
