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EBRD and Banca Transilvania support SMEs in Romania
€5 million to provide entrepreneurs with much-needed finance
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is continuing to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Romania through a €5 million credit line to Banca Transilvania, a fast-growing local bank and the first to be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in 1997.
The loan builds on the success of two previous EBRD loans to Banca Transilvania in 1999 and 2002, which have helped finance over 420 SMEs across the country. Through its nationwide branch network, Banca Transilvania will use the new loan to on-lend medium-term finance to more SMEs and entrepreneurs across the country wishing to start up or expand their businesses, especially for production, investment, trade, services and working capital to meet immediate financial needs. The loans provided by the bank will be denominated in various currencies depending on customers’ demand, including Romanian Lei, euros and dollars, and will aim to fuel this under-nourished sector of the country.
Rogers LeBaron, Director of the Financial Institutions Group at the EBRD, said the credit line reiterates the Bank’s commitment to supporting the private entrepreneurs that form the building blocks for economic growth. The EBRD has had a good track record supporting SMEs in Romania, and this loan will demonstrate to other local financial institutions that there is a strong demand for SME finance in Romania, added Mr LeBaron.
The support for the SME sector is a strategic development for Banca Transilvania, said Robert Rekkers, Chief Executive Officer. The successful implementation of the two SME facilities extended by the EBRD, with the support of the European Union, is a clear indication of the SME focus of Banca Transilvania. This third SME transaction with the EBRD is the result of an excellent cooperation between Banca Transilvania and the EBRD. We are committed to further develop and strengthen this cooperation, added Mr. Rekkers.
Banca Transilvania began its operations in 1994 with its headquarters in the north-west town of Cluj-Napoca. Today the bank has 53 branches across the country. Shareholders are the EBRD, Financial Investment Companies (SIFs) Banat-Crisana and Oltenia, Romanian Investment Company Cyprus and Ciorcila Horia as well as many other investors with smaller stakes.
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