International Commercial Black Sea Bank (Armenia) S.A.

In its first project in Armenia, MIGA issued a guarantee totaling $2.7 million in coverage to the Commercial Bank of Greece S.A. (CBG) for its equity investment in the establishment of a subsidiary branch, International Commercial Black Sea Bank (Armenia) S.A. (ICBSB) in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The MIGA guarantee will cover the investment against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance.

ICBSB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBG and will operate as a wholesale bank, focusing its activities in the areas of project finance, trade finance, advisory work, and privatization of local companies. The objective of the investment is to introduce a package of competitively priced financial services in Armenia. The clients targeted for these services are domestic mid-sized corporate and retail firms. The project will have significant developmental benefits as it will increase the availability of medium- and long-term capital and other financial services to enterprises engaged in the production of foods and services in Armenia. The ICBSB investment is in consonance with the government's economic reform program and will contribute to the development of a sound financial sector.