EDB and Eurasian Bank Agree to Work on Syndicated Loans

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Kazakhstan's Eurasian Bank signed a memorandum on 10 November to cooperate on arranging syndicated and interbank financing for investment projects, Trend reported. The document was signed in Abu Dhabi at an event marking the launch of the EDB's office at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).

The memorandum is a framework, not a loan. No amount, tenor or named project was disclosed. Its stated scope covers investment projects, including those financed through the EDB's investment funds, and large-scale energy projects in Kazakhstan.

Who is involved

The EDB is a multilateral development bank with a portfolio of 348 projects worth $22.1bn at the end of June 2026, according to Trend. Eurasian Bank is among Kazakhstan's ten largest banks by assets, has 19 regional branches and 119 cash settlement offices, and is part of the ERG group. Ruslan Dalenov, Deputy Chairman of the EDB Management Board, and Nazar Mamykanov, Managing Director of Eurasian Bank, commented on the agreement.

The Abu Dhabi link

The choice of venue reflects the EDB's effort to bring Gulf capital into Central Asian projects. The bank first announced its presence at ADGM in December 2025, linking Gulf capital with projects in Central Asia; EDB Chairman Nikolai Podguzov described it as an investment highway. Podguzov and Salem Al Darei, CEO of the ADGM Authority, attended the opening, Trend reported.

Analysis

In CBJ's view, the value of syndication lies in sharing risk. When a development bank arranges a loan and invites commercial lenders to take shares, large projects need not rest on one balance sheet. For a Kazakh commercial bank, the memorandum offers a potential route into larger transactions alongside the EDB.

The energy focus is consistent with the EDB's recent work. In late October the bank argued that Central Asia could gain up to US$120 million a year from better use of existing power plants and grids, and its research showed the share of local currency in development bank financing in Eurasia reaching 30%. Whether deals under the new memorandum are in tenge or in foreign currency has not been disclosed.

The limits are clear, however. A memorandum creates no binding commitment, and the value of this one will depend on whether specific transactions follow.

What to watch

The first signal will be a named project or a disclosed loan arranged under the memorandum. Further agreements signed through the ADGM office would show whether Gulf investors are joining the deals the office was set up to attract.

Sources: Trend, EDB and Eurasian Bank memorandum; Eurasian Development Bank, ADGM office; Trend, EDB office in ADGM.