The Moscow-headquartered International Investment Bank (IIB) increased its assets in the first half of 2016 by 14% year-on-year to €922mn, driven by 36% growth in the net loan portfolio to reach €416mn.

The share of loans to customers increased to 70% of the total loan book, up from 54% at the end of 2015. The share of EU clients in the portfolio increased to 40% from 32% with the addition of new loans to Czech, Bulgarian, and Romanian clients.

Asian borrowers accounted for 25% of IIB loans, and Russian clients 19%, with loans to non-member countries representing 16% of the book.

The bank made €16mn in net interest income, up by 34% y/y, and €5mn in net income in the reporting period of first half of 2016. IIB's equity rose from €398m to €415m.

The IIB is a multilateral development institution founded in 1970 and reformed in 2012. Its current nine members/shareholders are Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Hungary, Mongolia, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Vietnam, all participating through intergovernmental agreements.

The bank's creditworthiness was confirmed by its receiving a BBB stable rating from S&P in June. This adds to the existing ratings of Baa1 (stable) from Moody’s, BBB- (stable) from Fitch and A (stable) from Dagong.

S&P noted a strong financial profile of the regional development bank, seeing its risk-adjusted ratio as favourable compared with other multilateral lenders. The agency also estimated that IIB will be able to cover all committed debt and liabilities in the 12-month horizon, even given stressed market condition, owing to the bank's comprehensive liquidity buffer.