VTB Bank has extended a RUR 700 million seven-year credit facility to Merletto, a major regional confectionary and sausage producer. Merletto is expected to expand confectionary production, build new storage facilities and increase its working capital.

      VTB has worked with Merletto since 2012, providing the company with financing and cash management services.

      State-run VTB Bank has been hit with the EU sanctions but has continued to operate.

      In a comment published on the corporate website, Deputy President and Chairman of the VTB Bank Management Board Mikhail Oseevsky praised the deal saying that “loans enable companies like Merletto to implement high-value projects to expand and upgrade production and purchase modern equipment."

      Merletto is a large confectionary and sausage manufacturer. “The company launched its sausage production in 1998, and has been producing confectionary since 2008. Merletto is able to produce up to 50 tonnes of chocolate sweets and bars per day, its sausage production capacity is over 60 metric tons per day,” says the official press release.