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The EBRD has sold its 8.84 per cent stake in Moldova’s Mobiasbanca, a subsidiary of France’s Groupe Société Générale and the fourth-largest bank in the country, for €2.6 million.

The EBRD became a shareholder in Mobiasbanca in 2008 to support the entry of Groupe Société Générale into the Moldovan banking sector.

Angela Sax, Head of EBRD in Moldova, said: “Groupe Société Générale was the very first foreign bank to enter the Moldovan market and the EBRD is proud to have played an important role as shareholder throughout the past 10 years. We are pleased with Mobiasbanca’s achievements and its high corporate governance standards. We are happy to have helped bring best international practices to the Moldovan banking sector and continue to have confidence in Mobiasbanca’s future prospects.”

In addition to being a shareholder, the Bank has also been instrumental in providing access to finance to small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova via Mobiasbanca. Since 1996, the EBRD has extended over €60 million in financing to the bank for on-lending to local companies.

The EBRD is the largest institutional investor in Moldova. Since the start of its operations in the country, the Bank has invested close to €1.3 billion in more than 120 projects in Moldova’s financial, agribusiness, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.