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Supporting Romania's leasing market
EUR10 million EBRD loan to BCR Leasing helps finance local entrepreneurs
The EBRD is lending BCR Leasing, a member of Romania’s BCR Group, €10 million
to help more Romanian entrepreneurs acquire goods by leasing, an area growing
in demand but under-financed by local commercial means.
The loan will enable BCR Leasing to onlend long-term finance of up to
EUR30,000 to “micro” enterprises and up to EUR125,000 to small enterprises to
purchase cars or equipment that will support their business development.
Hildegard Gacek, Director for Romania at the EBRD, said that as the country’s
leasing sector grows it is important that entrepreneurs gain sufficient access
to finance to meet their demands. One of the main obstacles preventing SME
growth is access to long-term financing, Mrs Gacek said, and this loan to BCR
Leasing, an important partner for the EBRD, will help fill the gap.
The loan is part of the leasing window of the EU/EBRD SME Finance Facility, a
programme of the European Union in cooperation with the EBRD to promote SME
growth and development across the accession countries. It is being
complemented with EUR200,000 from the EU to help train credit officers in
lease financing. The EBRD has committed EUR676 million to the overall
facility, which has generated some 40,000 loans and leases. The EU has
committed EUR134 million in grant financing and for technical assistance since
the facility’s launch in 1999.
Jonathan Scheele, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to
Romania, said this country is very successful in implementing the facility,
both on the loan and leasing windows. Seven banks and three leasing companies
have benefited from more than EUR126 million under the programme. “It is a
successful facility that is benefiting many banks and individuals, and one we
intend to continue to support,” Mr Scheele said.
Established in 2001, BCR Leasing employs more than 80 staff across branches in
cities and towns in Romania, and is one of the the leading leasing companies
in the country.
Claudiu Stanescu, President-Director General at BCR Leasing, said the EBRD’s
long-term funding is very important for the sustained growth of the leasing
sector for SMEs in Romania. Dr Nicolae Danila, Chief Executive Officer at
Banca Comerciala Romana, added that the extended partnership with the EBRD is
beneficial not only for the development of the BCR Group but for the
development of the private sector in Romania as well.
The SME facility was launched under the Phare Programme – the main channel for
the EU's financial and technical cooperation with the EU accession countries –
with the EBRD, to encourage the growth and development of entrepreneurs by
providing access to loans, leasing and equity finance from local financial
intermediaries. The annual budget earmarked for the Phare Programme through
2006 is EUR1.5 billion.
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