Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development started a $100 million lending program to support small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.

The loan facility, which is to be used by the end of 2013, will be mainly for developing new products including agricultural lending via local commercial banks, the London- based EBRD said in an e-mailed statement today.

Credit Europe Bank Ukraine, or CEBU, will be the first bank to use the program with a $10 million loan under an agreement signed today in Kiev, the EBRD said.

--Editors: Tim Farrand, Peter Woodifield

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