For the favorable growth of small and medium businesses, additional financing is generally required, and entrepreneurs' own funds are often insufficient.
According to the Acting Chairman of the Board of AO 'Nurbank' Saken Akhmetov, bank loans can help develop businesses. However, he believes finding a reliable bank partner is a challenging task.
— Saken Kadirovich, how is the situation developing in the domestic lending market for small and medium businesses?
— The financing market for small and medium businesses is gradually reviving, recovering from the crisis. However, the recovery is happening at a slow pace because there are not many borrowers with a good credit history and strong projects.
— Bank credit programs vary, and it is not always easy for borrowers to sort out the terms. How should one choose the right bank and the most favorable conditions without wasting time?
— I would recommend choosing banks where the lending conditions are as transparent and understandable to the borrower as possible. Nurbank's credit programs meet these criteria. Our bank offers an express application, which is a brief project summary. This application is prepared by a manager in a few hours based on the client's short financial statements, proposed collateral, required amount, and a brief project description. The express application is then reviewed by the bank's credit committee, where a decision is made on whether to proceed with the project. The procedure for preparing and reviewing the express application takes from 2 to 4 days. This procedure is designed to simplify the client's process of gathering the full document package and significantly save time.
— What can AO 'Nurbank' offer to small and medium enterprises?
— AO 'Nurbank' participates in almost all government programs to support and develop small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as: 'Business Roadmap 2020', financing clients from the funds of AO 'FRP 'Damu' (2nd and 3rd tranches of the Stabilization Development Program, Damu-regions, Damu-regions-2) at low interest rates, subsidizing interest rates through the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as financing from the bank's own funds at rates from 13-14% per annum.
— Could you describe your product lines for small and medium-sized businesses in more detail?
— Currently, the SME department of AO 'Nurbank' has developed products that cover virtually all needs of SMEs. For example, credit products include financing for working capital and fixed assets, purchasing commercial real estate, vehicles, and special equipment for business. Additionally, there are products such as overdrafts, various types of guarantees, letters of credit, deposits, and so on.
— What are your main requirements for borrowers?
— Our main requirements are a transparent and profitable business, a positive credit history, and sufficient collateral.
— What are the regional features of small business lending?
— The regional features of SME lending depend on the sectorial focus of the region itself. For example, in the north of the country, SMEs are mainly agriculture-oriented, so knowledge of agriculture is required to analyze projects and offer optimal conditions to the client. Overall, in each region, the main segment of SMEs consists of trade, construction, and manufacturing companies.
— Is there a difference between lending to individuals and working with small and medium enterprises?
— There is a difference. When financing individuals, the main focus is on the borrower's income, mainly in the form of salary, while financing SMEs requires analyzing the client's financial statements, viewing the business location, checking for seasonal sales, understanding the essence of the client's business, and only then making a decision.
— What other unique or additional services does the bank provide to its clients?
— Our uniqueness lies in the fact that we are a small, nimble bank. Our priority is customer orientation. We meet clients halfway, creating the most flexible conditions for them.
Link to the material: http://www.np.kz/index.php?newsid=9623