Vnesheconombank is a State Corporation performing functions of the Bank for Development. It operates to diversify the Russian economy, boost its competitive edge and encourage the inflow of investments. Vnesheconombank funds major investment projects aimed at removing economic growth infrastructure restrictions. VEB does not compete with commercial credit institutions and participates only in those projects that are not capable of receiving private investors’ financing. Under the Memorandum of the Bank’s Financial Policies Vnesheconombank is to extend credits and guarantees for projects payback periods of which exceed 5 years and a total value is more than 2 billion rubles. In 2010, two projects in which Vnesheconombank participated, namely, modernization of the Khabarovsk refinery and construction of a polypropylene manufacturing complex in Tobolsk received the Deal of the year Award of the Trade Finance Magazine incorporated in the Euromoney plc publishing group. These projects were implemented on the principle of export-import and project financing through raising (up to 10 and 13 years respectively) financing from a syndicate of foreign banks against the coverage of foreign export insurance agencies. In 2011, the Bank’s loan portfolio amounted to almost 500 billion rubles. Under the Bank’s new strategy it is to increase to 850 billion rubles by 2015 and the proportion of innovation projects is to amount to 20%.