MAIB appointed to lead Chisinau’s first municipal bond issue
On July 15, MAIB signed an agreement with the Mayor of Chisinau, Ion Ceban, to facilitate the issuance of a first municipal bond in recent history. The signing took place after MAIB’s bid was declared winner in the competition launched by the Chisinau City Hall. MAIB will provide the framework to develop an alternative financing mechanism for municipal projects via a direct placement of municipal bonds.
Chisinau’s municipal bond issue is expected to be the largest such placement, offering the issuer the possibility to directly tap the capital markets, diversifying its sources of financing, all achieved with the highest level of transparency.
For MAIB this appointment is an important milestone. During its 30-year history the bank has positioned itself as an active promoter of financial innovations aimed at developing capital markets in Moldova.
Ion Ceban, General Mayor of Chisinau, commented:
”Signing this Contract is a very important step for the Municipality and, in general, for the Republic of Moldova, being a premiere when a Local Public Administration launches Projects related to Financial Bonds. Thanks to them, there shall be implemented a series of Projects for the residents of the Capital. Now we are talking especially about the residents of the suburb, who will have a quality public transport. I want to thank our financial Partner - Moldova Agroindbank - for this important event for the municipality and colleagues from Expert-Grup - for facilitating the process”, he mentioned.
Giorgi Shagidze, Chief Executive Officer of MAIB, commented:
„We are glad to be a part of this unique project for Chisinau, which will bring numerous benefits both to the local authorities and directly to its inhabitants. Given that the municipal bond issue will be used to purchase modern public transport for Chisinau, MAIB's support for the project is in line with the bank's objective of promoting the Smart City concept. This issuance will also support development of local capital market where MAIB will continue contributing through its expertise and experience”, he said.
Municipal bonds are securities issued by cities or other forms of local authorities. The local authorities may issue municipal bonds for capital investment or refinance long-term debt previously contracted also for capital investment.
The project "Local Government Bonds - as a measure to increase local autonomy" is implemented by the "Expert-Grup" Centre, with the financial support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chisinau.
MAIB develops a partnership with the city, financing important projects, such as the development and modernization of transport infrastructure. Also, MAIB and Mastercard are participating in the first stage of the pilot project of electronic toll in the Chisinau public transport units. More information in the project can be found on our website.
About MAIB
MAIB is the largest bank in Moldova, accounting for circa 30% of country’s banking assets and circa 35% in loans. MAIB provides 24.6% of all mortgage loans extended to Moldovans. MAIB averaged a 11.4% asset growth, 11.7% deposit growth and 8.9% profit growth in the last 5 years. The bank serves over 20% of Moldova’s population and is among the largest employers in the country. The bank is well capitalized with Tier 1 Capital ratio of 19.54%. MAIB boasts a five year average Return on Equity (ROE) of 13.54%. The bank is widely recognized for its customer service and product innovation. Since 2018, MAIB’s largest shareholder is HEIM Partners Limited, a UK registered company, representing the consortium of investors composed of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Invalda INVL, a leading asset management group in the Baltics and Horizon Capital, an Emerging Europe focused private equity funds manager.
