VTB Bank Georgia issues agro loans only for financing the establishment of new enterprises

The employees of Batumi Informational-Consultative Service-Center of “Agro Service Center” continue meetings with the representatives of banking sector. Last time they met with the director of credit department of “VTB Bank Georgia” Batumi regional branch. They talked about the conditions of loans which should be granted within the frame of “Preferential Agro Credit” project and the situation in regard to the project in VTB bank.

As it is known, the “Preferential Agro Credit” project includes three components, but VTB bank issues agro loans only for the third component which includes funding the establishment of new agricultural enterprises. The percentage rate for agro loans is 3 and it would be granted for 7 year period. The amount of agro loan could be up to 1 million GEL.  By that time only three credit applications were considered in VTB bank from the all received applications, from which the owners of two were offered agro loan with the less amount than they demanded. As VTB bank offered the less amount of agro loan than the farmers needed unsatisfied farmers denied withdrawing the loan. VTB bank issued no agro credit till now because of above-stated and other kinds of reasons. As the head of Credit Department Nestan Abashidze states, farmers cannot meet the bank's requirements. In particular, they cannot provide the loan and finance it with 20 percent by themselves. They also have no particular work experience in agro sphere.

The meeting between the employees of Batumi Informational-Consultative Service Center of “Agro Service Center” and the head of credit department of “VTB Bank Georgia” was informal.  The employees of “Agro Service Center” study the current situation in banks in regard to the agro loans to help farmers.