Project Description
This project was approved as part of the Bank's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To avoid delays to the delivery of this project, the Bank's President granted a deviation from the ordinary timelines for PSD disclosure, as contemplated by Section V of the Directive on Access to Information. Details of the Bank's response to COVID-19, and this deviation, can be found on our website.
EUR 5 million unsecured multicurrency (EUR or RON) loan to Agricover Credit IFN SA under the Resilience Framework.
Project Objectives
The project will strengthen the company's funding position and will allow it to: i) pursue growth strategy aimed at assisting smaller farmers; ii) continue providing support to agri-business SME clients and thus reduce the risk profile of the end-borrowers. The EBRD financing will provide Agricover Credit IFN with additional comfort supporting its lending plan to the agribusiness SMEs in Romania.
Transition Impact
ETI score: 60
The project contributes to the objectives of the Resilience Framework, supporting the "competitive" and "resilient" transition qualities.
- Resilient: The client retains solvency and remains an active and effective market player.
- Competitive: Evolution of the client's new commercial lending at least in line with the market and comparable players.
Client Information
AGRICOVER CREDIT IFN SA
Agricover Credit IFN is an existing EBRD client. The company was established in Romania in June 2008 as a non-banking financial institution specialised in financing of the local agricultural sector. Its major shareholder is Agricover Holding SA (99.999%; the Group), a leading player in the Romanian agricultural sector. The Group is ultimately controlled by its founder, Mr. Jabbar Kanani. In late 2017, EBRD injected RON 32 million (EUR 7 million equivalent) in the Group's capital for 12.7% stake and in 2018 approved the first loan to Agricover Credit IFN (EUR 15 million in RON equivalent, in two tranches).
EBRD Finance Summary
EUR 5,000,000.00
Senior unsecured multi-currency (EUR or RON) credit facility of EUR 5 million.
Total Project Cost
EUR 5,000,000.00
Sources Total: EUR 5,000,000
EBRD financing: EUR 5,000,000
Additionality
EBRD financing effectively bridges a liquidity gap due to adverse market conditions amid the Covid-19 crisis. The client will facilitate farmers' access to funding sources and will be available to support more farmers if competitors are no longer able to continue servicing them as a result of and amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Environmental and Social Summary
Categorised FI (ESP 2019). Agricover Credit IFN has an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) in place which meets the EBRD's environmental and social requirements under Performance Requirement (PR) 9 and compliance with PRs 2 and 4 was confirmed in the context of a previous transaction. The company ensures borrowers comply with the environmental and social national laws and regulations in force in Romania and have standard clauses in all loan agreements. Agricover Credit IFN will be required to continue to comply with the EBRD's PR 2, 4 and 9, including adhering to the EBRD's extended Exclusion and new Referral List as updated under the Environmental and Social Policy 2019. The company will continue to submit annual environmental and social reports. The expected overall risk profile of the sub-projects is low to medium.
Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing
N/A
Company Contact Information
Denisa Manoliu
credit@agricover.ro
https://agricover.ro/finantare/
Implementation summary
The project was expected to strengthen Agricover Credit IFN's funding position and to allow it to: i) pursue growth strategy aimed at assisting smaller farmers; ii) continue providing support to agri-business SME clients and thus reduce the risk profile of the end-borrowers. The EBRD financing was intended to provide the company with additional comfort supporting its lending plan to the agribusiness SMEs in Romania in the extraordinary context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to help ACIFN remain liquid and operational ('Resilient') with continued commercial lending at least in line with the market and comparable players ('Competitive').
The client achieved its business objective and maintained a robust financial performance. ACIFN remained committed to continuing and even enhancing lending during the COVID-19 crisis in order to support creditworthy existing customers with increased liquidity as well as to offer repayment holidays/ extensions to eligible farmers under the national authorities' emergency measures.
PSD last updated
05 Jan 2023
Understanding Transition
Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.
Business opportunities
For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.
For business opportunities with EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:
Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com
For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:
Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com
General enquiries
Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.
Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)
The ESP and the associated Performance Requirements (PRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the PRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation as well as to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about environmental and social performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD additionally requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts arising from projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.
More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.
Integrity and Compliance
The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all activities of the Bank in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The Bank believes that identifying and resolving issues at the project assessment approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts, and also helps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.
OCCO is also responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, both within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. All matters reported will be handled by OCCO for follow-up. All reports, including anonymous ones, will be reviewed. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.
Access to Information Policy (AIP)
The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.
Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.
Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)
If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Client’s Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).
IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.
Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.
