RUSSIA'S Raiffeisen Leasing is likely to receive a US$60 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), boosting its leasing services to Russian and Western-owned companies.

Vehicle leasing is a key part of Raiffeisen Leasing's business portfolio. Affiliated with Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, it focuses on private customers whom it deems have strong management, especially in Moscow/St Petersburg and surrounding regions.

It arranges leases of mainly foreign made or foreign-branded vehicles and equipment. The EBRD said it wanted to 'support Raiffeisen Leasing's further expansion by providing long-term debt facilities, diversifying the company's funding base' and that the loan would promote competition in Russian leasing.