January 31 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) said on Tuesday that it has approved a 1.6 billion euro ($1.73 billion) Romanian state aid request for the capitalisation of a national investment and development bank.
The Romanian Investment and Development Bank will be established as a fully state-owned entity, with the finance ministry as its shareholder, and will act under the supervision of the central bank BNR, the EC said in a press release.
The state aid will be provided through a capital injection of up to 608 million euro, a 1.4 million euro grant, and state guarantees worth 902 million euro.
"The bank will ensure access to finance, especially to those small and medium sized companies (SMEs) that struggle to get sufficient support from the market. This will strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of companies operating in the EU," said Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.
The bank will address market failures and support economic development as well as investment opportunities. It will also intervene to ensure access to financing in areas where there is insufficient availability in the market, with a focus on providing funding to SMEs, including micro-enterprises and start-ups. The bank may support infrastructure projects, according to the statement.
($=9237 euro)