The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced last Thursday that it has provided an $8 million loan to Mongolia's Khan Bank to improve financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME).

The loan is the third tranche under a $25 million framework created to allow the suppliers and distributors of MSMEs with ties to big corporations to receive more competitive financing, according to an EBRD press release.

The new loan is being provided in the local Mongolian currency, the tugrik, in an effort to develop the domestic capital markets.

"This is our first time borrowing in [the tugrik] from the EBRD," Khan Bank CEO Norihiko Kato said. "Thanks to the EBRD's support of value chain finance, we will be able to better meet the expectations of our current and potential customers. We will provide improved access to finance for MSMEs that work with large corporations as suppliers or distributors. We are pleased to propose high-quality finance to these customers."

The EBRD extended the first two tranches of the loan, totaling $17 million, to Khan Bank last year.