The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is expanding the existing portfolio of projects in Azerbaijan in various spheres, BSTDB President Dmitry Pankin said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"We work jointly with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Shah Deniz 2 project. We have a syndicate of banks. BSTDB has allocated $60 million for this project," he said.

Pankin also talked about cooperation with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR.

"We have a big ongoing project with SOCAR. We have allocated $50 million for the company’s trade financing. We believe that the cooperation with SOCAR is a very successful experience and would like to continue to work in this direction. We direct the funds in national currency to be received as a result of BSTDB’s first loan placement in Azerbaijan to the development of the small and medium-sized business. Currently, we are working out a number of projects in the sphere of electricity, manufacturing equipment for the oil and gas industry, supporting trade financing," said BSTDB president.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with the participation of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), arranged a financing package of almost $1 billion for a landmark offshore natural gas field project in Azerbaijan, Shah Deniz stage II in 2015.

The financing was planned to total $960 million. The EBRD and ADB would each lend $250 million to the project on their own accounts (A-loans) and BSTDB would provide $60 million parallel A-loan alongside the EBRD and ADB. The remainder of the financing would be provided by a group of commercial lenders.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), an international financial institution with headquarters in Thessaloniki, Greece, was established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. BSTDB started operations in June 1999 and has authorized capital of 3.45 billion euros. The Bank supports economic development and regional cooperation in the Black Sea Region through trade and project finance lending, guarantees, and equity participation in private enterprises and public entities in the member countries. BSTDB is rated A-/A-2 by Standard & Poor’s, and A2/P1 by Moody's.