Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia
It can be hard work being a corporate-focused lender in Mongolia. The last few years have been a slog for many banks as they confront a sluggish economy that often teeters on the edge of insolvency and that offers precious few new lending opportunities.
But through it all, one lender has remained as unflustered and unflappable as ever, extending credit to and managing the various needs of Mongolia’s largest companies. Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB) is by far the best and biggest corporate banking player in the country, serving 400 big domestic firms, as well as 45% of all trade finance transactions.
At the end of September 2017, it accounted for 46% of all outstanding domestic corporate loans, according to data from the Bank of Mongolia. It also accounted for more than a third of money market trades in the third quarter of 2017, and a little under 30% of foreign exchange trading.
It is Mongolia’s most active lender internationally, thanks to direct correspondent relationships with more than 150 foreign lenders and financial institutions.
TDB has worked hard in recent years to diversify its corporate lending portfolio, which is skewed toward big domestic industries, notably mining, construction, real estate and commodities.
While the last few years have been hard going, growth is finally ticking again up in the wake of a recent IMF bailout and a renewed push to get the giant gold-and-copper Oyu Tolgoi mine up and running.
Mongolia’s economy seems ready to shine again. No bank is likely to benefit more than TDB.