The International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to forge a long term partnership with An Binh Bank (ABB).

IFC, a financial arm of the World Bank, will provide a long term 75 million USDloan to the bank.

The IFC is considering investing up to 50 million USD in the bank by purchasing senior and convertible debt instruments. The investment is expected to help the bank maintain a healthy Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), while improving its loan portfolio.

A reliable source from An Binh Bank said that the two sides were in the process of negotiating the 50 million USD investment deal.

The corporation also plans to provide a 25 million USD loan to the bank to help support climate change initiatives and enhance financing for eligible projects in the Energy Efficiency (EE) and Cleaner Production (CP) sectors. These projects are congruent with the IFC's financial strategy for Vietnam and are in line with the WB's efforts to use market mechanisms to mitigate climate change's impacts in Vietnam .

IFC has been working with An Binh Bank on several projects to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and to finance enterprises that are committed to protecting the environment and conserving energy. IFC also promises to help An Binh Bank to improve its technological infrastructure and corporate governance.

By the end of last month, the bank had total assets worth 36.26 trillion VND (1.85 billion USD) and a total outstanding loan worth 17.95 trillion VND (920.51 million USD). The bank earned 546.2 billion VND (28 million USD) in pre-tax profit during the first nine months of the year, a 94.1 percent increase against the same period last year.

An Binh Bank has 3.48 trillion VND (178.46 million USD) in charter capital, and the financial institute plans to increase its charter capital to 3.83 trillion VND (196.41 million USD) by the year's end.

Last week the IFC bought 10 percent stake, worth 190 million USD, in Vietinbank./.