The Agreement Establishing the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) was signed in Tbilisi, Georgia on June 30, 1994 and entered into force on January 24, 1997. The Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on February 5-6, 1998 and March 11, 1998. Pursuant to a Resolution adopted at the First Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in Kiev, Ukraine, on April 6, 1999, the Bank formally commenced operations on June 1, 1999.

The purpose of the Bank is to effectively contribute to the transition process of the Member States towards the economic prosperity of the people in the region and to finance and promote regional projects and provide other banking services to projects of the public and private sectors in the Member States and trade activities among the Member States.

To fulfill this mandate, the Bank is empowered by the Agreement Establishing the Bank to finance productive projects and enterprises in Member States, to assist in the promotion of intra-regional trade, to promote investment in economic and social infrastructure projects in the Member States, and to undertake such other activities and provide such other services as my advance its purpose.

To carry out its operations in furtherance of its purpose and functions, the Bank may, among other things, support trade activities, co-finance with other financial institutions, invest in equity capital, make or participate in loans and provide technical assistance for the reconstruction or development of infrastructure, including environmental programmes, and enter into other appropriate banking operations consistent with its mandate.

The initial authorised and subscribed capital stock of the Bank is one billion SDR.

Membership in the Bank is open to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Participating States and to other multilateral banks and financial institutions. All BSEC Participating States are members of the Bank.

COMPOSITION

11 member countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine.

STRUCTURE

The Board of Governors is composed of 11 Governors, one from each Member State. All the powers of the Bank are vested in the Boards of Governors. The Board of Governors may delegate to the Board of Directors any or all of its powers except the powers expressly reserved to it by the Agreement establishing the Bank. Such powers include the power to amend the Agreement Establishing the Bank, increase or decrease the authorized capital stock, appoint the President of the Bank, admit new Members or suspend a Member, approve the annual financial statements of the Bank , and determine the allocation of net income to reserves and surplus.

The Board of Directors is composed of 11 Directors, one from each Member State, holding office for a renewable term of three years. The Board is non-resident and currently meets approximately six times a year. The Board of Directors is responsible for the direction of the general operations of the Bank. In addition to the powers assigned to it expressly by the Agreement Establishing the Bank, it exercises all the powers delegated to it by the Board of Governors. It prepares the work of the Board of Governors, takes decisions concerning the business of the Bank and its operations in conformity with the general directions of the Board of Governors, submits the accounts for each financial year for the approval of the Board of Governors at each Annual Meeting, and approves the budget of the Bank.

The President is appointed by the Board of Governors, by a vote of simple majority of the total number of Governors, respresenting not less than a majority of the total voting power of the Members. The President holds office for a term of four years, and must be a citizen of a Member State. The President, as chief executive of the Bank, is its legal representative. The President is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and conducts the current business of the Bank under the direction of the Board of Directors.

The Vice Presidents and the Secretary General are appointed by the Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the President. They hold office for such term, exercise such authority and perform such functions in the administration of the Bank as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors.

GENERAL PUBLICATIONS

UPDATED:  November 26, 2003