IFC and Goldman Sachs  announced a syndicated senior loan of $110 million to An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBANK) to boost lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This is the first phase of a up to $150 million financing package IFC is arranging for the bank. At least one third of the funding will support women-owned enterprises. 

With this funding, ABBANK aims to triple its SME portfolio and quadruple the size of its lending to women-owned SMEs over a five-year period. The outstanding SME portfolio is expected to reach more than $1 billion by 2021. 

As Vietnam’s economic growth continues, long-term funding for SMEs is going to become critical. While SMEs account for more than 98 percent of the country’s businesses and 50 percent of employment, only 30 percent of the registered SMEs has access to formal financial services. Further, a new IFC study finds that it is even more difficult for women-owned SMEs to obtain bank loans, with an estimated credit gap of $1.2 billion per annum.