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EBRD €5 mln loan supports Romanian leasing market
BCR Leasing receives second Bank loan, benefiting businesses
Romanian entrepreneurs will be able to acquire more goods by leasing following
a €5 million loan from the EBRD to BCR Leasing, a member of the BCR Group. It
is the Bank’s second loan to BCR Leasing, with the first enabling the company
to support over 900 SMEs across Romania. As with the first EBRD loan, BCR
Leasing will provide lease finance of up to €30,000 to micro enterprises and
up to €125,000 to small enterprises to purchase, for example, equipment and
commercial vehicles that will support their business development.
Hildegard Gacek, EBRD Director for Romania, said the leasing sector in Romania
is an area growing in demand but under-financed by local commercial means.
This EBRD loan will build on its first loan to BCR Leasing, ensuring more and
more businesses will gain access to the capital they need to grow, said Ms
Gacek.
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. The Bank is making
available €1.1 billion for the facility, of which €895 million has been
committed to signed projects to date. The EU has committed €156.75 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. “The leasing activities will help
Romania’s accession to the EU and will create the conditions for the growth of
a fully developed market economy. The Commission will continue to support
appropriate initiatives designed to improve financing opportunities in
Romania” Mr. Scheele said.
Established in 2001, BCR Leasing employs more than 120 staff across branches
in cities and towns in Romania, and is one of the leading leasing companies in
the country. Claudiu Stanescu, President-Director General at BCR Leasing, said
the EBRD’s long-term funding is a strong contribution to a sustained growth of
the leasing sector for SMEs in Romania. At the same time, the EU/EBRD Facility
represents a real support for the SME’s sector development and increasing
competitiveness.
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.
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