The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is increasing its support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Romania through a €100mn loan to Banca Transilvania, one of the country’s leading banks.
This comes as a response to the global economic crisis, which has resulted in a significant decline in the ability of small businesses to access the finance needed to expand and fuel the domestic economy.
In Romania, borrowing by SMEs has fallen dramatically as a result of the diminishing availability of long term-debt financing from commercial banks.
Since 1999, the EBRD has provided close to €90mn to Banca Transilvania in financing both equity and debt. More than 7500 SME clients now stand to benefit from the new funds.
EBRD director for financial institutions, Nick Tesseyman says: “In view of the severe impact of the global economic crisis on Central and Eastern Europe, the EBRD will continue to play an important role in the banking sectors of our region by staying open for business, remaining engaged on the ground, reinforcing our commitment and supporting our partners.”
“With this loan, the bank is assisting a solid locally-owned SME bank in Romania to adjust to current difficult market conditions and adapt to the more challenging external funding environment,” Tesseyman adds.
Despite the credit crisis, the EBRD is aiming for a substantial increase in its investments in the coming year and anticipates a record amount of up to €7bn in 2009.
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