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EBRD extends standby loan to Ion Tiriac Bank
Small and medium-sized enterprises in Romania will benefit from a US$ 20 million (ECU 16.2 million) revolving standby loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Commercial Bank Ion Tiriac (CBIT), a joint-stock company incorporated under Romanian law.
Pierre Mellinger, Co-director of the Financial Institutions team at the EBRD, said: "This is EBRD’s second standby credit facility in the region. The three-year revolving loan will enable CBIT to increase its lending to Romanian companies thereby providing an important impetus to the emerging private sector.”
As a leading private sector bank and an important lender to the Romanian small and medium-sized enterprise sector, CBIT is facing an increasing demand for medium-term facilities from its developing client base. The loan will help CBIT to meet this demand and will also strengthen further the bank’s balance sheet.
Constantin Duna, President of CBIT, said: “This is another important step in the collaboration between EBRD and CBIT. With its innovative and flexible structure, this loan will help us meet even better the needs of our clients. It will also add to our bank’s reputation as the leading private bank in Romania.”
Opened for business in April 1991, CBIT extends credit, in both lei and foreign currency, to corporate borrowers through a network of 14 offices throughout the country and its head office in Bucharest. Thirteen additional branches and agencies are scheduled for opening by the end of this year.
Following the acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in CBIT in April 1993, the EBRD’s objective has been to strengthen the Romanian bank's capital position and its banking operations.
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