EIB Lends 140 Mln Euro to Romania's Bancpost, EFG Leasing To Back SMEs

The loan to Bancpost, a unit of Greece’s Eurobank EFG, will finance small and medium-scale projects promoted by SMEs in various sectors of industry, agriculture, tourism and services, EIB said in a statement. This is the second intermediated loan provided by the EIB to Bancpost, following a 20 million euro loan extended in 2006 for projects promoted by Romanian municipalities.

The loan to EFG Leasing Romania will support smaller projects in Romania in the areas of industry, services including tourism, agriculture, health, energy and environmental protection, usually promoted by SMEs, with up to 30% also being available to finance the projects of mid-cap enterprises and public sector entities.

EIB said its loans for SMEs are aimed at reducing the impact of the current economic crisis by improving access to medium and long-term funds on advantageous financial terms.

Since 1990, the EIB has signed loan contracts in Romania amounting to some 6.6 billion euro, of which some 530 million euro (including the current loans) has backed SMEs and municipal projects, EIB said.

($ = 0.6986 euro)