The guarantees will allow Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), Raiffeisen Bank Romania, and UniCredit Bank Romania to offer more favourable loan terms, triggering up to 750 million euro in new lending to support investments in climate action and digital transformation by local large enterprises, mid-caps, and small municipalities, the EIB said in a press release following a visit by EIB vice-president Ioannis Tsakiris to Bucharest.
In a separate statement, the local unit of Raiffeisen Bank said that the guarantees provided by the EIB will allow it to mobilize 250 million euro to finance medium-to-large investment projects, especially in the fields of climate action and digitalisation.
BCR announced on Thursday that the EIB guarantees will facilitate loans of up to 200 million euro for companies with headcounts over 500. Each company can obtain loans of up to 25 million euro, with up to 80% of the amount guaranteed by the EIB. These loans can be used for investments and to support the working capital needed for their implementation. Eligible projects include those related to infrastructure, environment and sustainability, digitalisation and innovation, as well as education and health.
UniCredit Bank Romania also stated on Thursday that the EIB's guarantees will enable a credit portfolio of up to 300 million euro, with a potential to expand to 450 million. Large companies employing over 500 people at the group level and small municipalities tallying population under 100,000 will be able to access 15-year individual loans of up to 25 million euro each for investments in climate action and digital transformation.
The loan guarantees offered by the EIB follow the bank's 1.4 billion euro contribution for projects under Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The EIB’s previous support under the NRRP had been directed to co-financing the country’s A3 and A7 motorway projects.
The EIB started its collaboration with Romania in 1991 and has since committed more than 19 billion euro in financing for 193 projects in the country. In the first half of 2024, EIB financing in Romania has surpassed €754 million for operations carried out by the public, corporate, and banking sectors in the fields of transport, education, energy, and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Jun 28, 2024
