As a part of the “SME Development Loan” facility which has been structured and approved by the Board of Directors at the 14^th Board Meeting, the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Trade and Development Bank signed a loan agreement with İş Finansal Kiralama  A.Ş. on February 17, 2009 for an amount of USD 15 million.

İş Finansal Kiralama is the third local financial institution in Turkey which signed the SME agreement with the ECO Trade and Development Bank, following Ziraat Finansal Kiralama and Türkiye Halk Bankası. As a result of three signed agreements, the ECO Bank reimburses USD 45 million into the market for supporting SMEs operating in Turkey. SME Development Loan has been structured to provide necessary support to the SME sector with a maturity period of up to 4 years including one year grace period.

The ECO Trade and Development Bank gives importance to the SME Loan facilities since SMEs are not only playing a major role towards economic growth by creating employment opportunities as well as alleviating of poverty for member countries, but also they contribute the development of trade in the ECO region.