For the first time, a Russian bank is participating in an EBRD-led US$300 million programme to promote energy efficiency.
28 October 2011: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing Russia’s NBD Bank with 280 million roubles in financing to lend on to small businesses interested in improving energy use practices. NBD is the second largest bank in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. NBD is the first Russian bank to participate in a US$300 million programme launched by the EBRD targeted at Russian lenders to promote energy efficiency. The programme, a five year loan agreed under the framework of the EBRD’s Russian Sustainable Energy and Carbon Finance Facility (RUSEFF), will allow NBD clients borrowing through it to benefit from free energy audits to help them reduce energy consumption and emissions production. They will also have access to specialized RUSEFF consultants for the appraisal and development of energy efficiency projects. [EBRD News]