EBRD supports Moldavan SMEs

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has offered a significant boost to Moldovan small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing the county’s seventh largest bank, Banca Sociala, with a €5mn (US$6.7mn) loan.

The loan will be used by Banca Sociala to finance investments and working capital of Moldovan SMEs with medium and longer-term loans.

Banca Sociala will also benefit from technical assistance funds, which will be used to strengthen the bank’s risk management system.

This is the latest in a string of credit lines, totalling €19mn (US$25.5mn), that the EBRD has supplied to Banca Sociala since 2005, and the most recent of the EBRD’s investments into Moldova, which now total around €350mn (US$469mn).

Francis Melige, EBRD’s director for financing institutions in the Western Balkans, Belarus, Moldova and Turkey, comments: “The credit line to Banca Sociala will give an additional boost to the competition in the Moldovan banking sector, increasing the availability of financing to local enterprises.

“The project will facilitate SMEs’ access to much-needed financing, reinforcing the EBRD’s commitment to support the development of the private sector in Moldova. We are very pleased that Banca Sociala is further reinforcing its longstanding commitment to that very important sector of the economy.”

Vladmir Suetnov, president of Banca Sociala, praises the deal and the partnership between the two institutions: “The new credit line will allow us to improve access to longer-term funding for this important group of our clients and will hopefully further strengthen our mutually beneficial cooperation with EBRD.”