FUIB signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Government of Belarus

The First Ukrainian International Bank (FUIB) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Belarus. The signing took place in the framework of the Ukrainian-Belarusian Business Forum in Kiev. According to the memorandum, the Belarusian party will compensate 8% of the credit rate for Belarusian agricultural equipment.

"To stimulate the supply of Belarusian agricultural machinery to Ukraine, the Belarusian party will compensate up to 8% of the credit rate of Ukrainian banks for the purchase of equipment. Previously, only 2 Ukrainian state banks participated in this program. But within the program expansion this year, the Belarusians decided to add the third — commercial — bank," says Aleksey Volchkov, the Deputy Chairman of the Board, Member of the Board of FUIB, exclusively for Latifundist.com.

According to the speaker, annually about 20% of Belarusian export products pass through the FUIB bank. Therefore, this memorandum is another stage in cooperation with the Republic of Belarus. Aleksey Volchkov also noted that the participation of FUIB in the program will make high-quality agricultural machinery more affordable for the medium and small farmers. American and European manufacturers of agricultural equipment implement similar programs for a while but it is not always affordable for Ukrainian farmers. At the same time, Belarusian technology shows good quality at affordable price.

"We expect that our presence in agriculture and participation in the program will give more opportunities for Ukrainian farmers in buying agricultural machinery. We have previously worked with Belarusian machinery manufacturers but not without this program. Taking into consideration the high-interest rates in Ukraine, and this is of great importance for investments because they pay off in the long term, the program will increase the supply of agricultural equipment to Ukraine and will make machinery more affordable for our agricultural producers," says Aleksey Volchkov.

Now FUIB is getting ready for the autumn peak of sales and plans to develop a loan portfolio of up to UAH 600 million the next year.