April 28 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Friday it is considering a 50 million euro ($55 million) loan to Romania's UniCredit Bank to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
If granted, the loan will finance small and medium-sized eligible investments promoted by riskier SMEs or mid-caps, including start-ups, innovative companies and other SMEs and mid-caps creating training and/or employment opportunities, EIB said in a statement.
Before financing approval by the board of directors, and before loan signature, such projects are under appraisal and negotiation, the bank added.
In March, EIB said it had lent 1.1 billion euro to Romania in 2016, mainly to support infrastructure upgrades, SMEs and energy efficiency projects.
UniCredit Bank, part of Italy's UniCredit Group, operated 160 branches in Romania as at end-2016.
($ = 0.9178 euro)