responsAbility-managed investment company takes majority stake in Ukrainian Bank Lviv

Zurich and Lviv, 3 July 2018 — A responsAbility-managed private equity vehicle has completed an equity investment in the Ukrainian Bank Lviv and, following approval by the Ukranian National Bank, will hold a majority stake in the company. Bank Lviv focuses on serving individuals and small to mid-sized businesses in Western Ukraine.

Founded in 1990, Bank Lviv has been successfully serving private individuals and businesses through a wide branch network throughout Western Ukraine for over 25 years.

Co-shareholer Margeir Petursson, who acquired a majority stake in the bank in 2006, and responsAbility teamed up in September 2017 with the ambition to develop Bank Lviv into the leading provider of responsible, client-focused financial services in Western Ukraine for small and medium-sized and agricultural businesses. In order to achieve this goal, an experienced international management team was put in place and has since grown the credit portfolio to SMEs by 140%. The bank plans to expand its outreach to a total of 7000 SME clients by the end of 2021.

Margeir Petursson underlined: “As a local bank we understand our customers’ financial needs and share the belief in the region’s potential. Best practice and experience from Switzerland, the world’s leading banking market, and the cooperation with an experienced and trustworthy international partner will enable Bank Lviv to introduce the latest technology and further improve efficiency, allowing us to achieve growth as well as financial sustainability.”

Speaking on behalf of responsAbility, Michael Fiebig, Head Financial Institutions Equity Investments, declared: “Ukraine is now emerging from an economic downturn. The results are a significantly improved financial outlook and business conditions with accompanying growth opportunities. Thanks to its broad deposit base, extensive branch network and the strong new management team, Bank Lviv has the infrastructure in place to deliver significant growth. We look forward to being part of this exciting next step in the company’s development.”

About Bank Lviv (banklviv.com) Founded in 1990, Bank Lviv is a public joint-stock company supervised by the National Bank of Ukraine. Active across Western Ukraine, the bank serves a broad client base. The bank’s financing offer is mainly targeted at SMEs and agricultural companies. As of the end of 2017, Bank Lviv held total assets of USD 64 m, deposits of USD 32 m and a gross loan portfolio of USD 40 m. The bank operates 22 offices and employs 270 staff.

About responsAbility Investments AG (responsAbility.com) responsAbility Investments AG is a leading asset manager in the field of development investments that offers professionally managed investment solutions to private, institutional and public investors. The company supplies debt and equity financing to firms in emerging economies. responsAbility currently has USD 3 billion of assets under management invested in over 550 companies in 90 countries. Founded in 2003, the company is headquartered in Zurich and has local offices in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Lima, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Nairobi, Oslo and Paris. Its shareholders include a number of reputable institutions in the Swiss financial market and its own employees. responsAbility is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA.

Contacts

Bank Lviv Natalia Osadcii, Media Relations +380504617619 osadcii@banklviv.com