BRD got EUR60 million because it used up its guarantee allocation faster than expected, while BCR received EUR45 million. BRD officials say the new guarantees are enough to meet demand for new loans until the end of the year.
“The bank has only EUR8 million left of the current cap and has already requested and got an allocation from the new cap approved for 2012. BRD is capable of meeting the entire demand for “First Home” loans until the end of the year,” said Adrian Jantea, head of retail promotion and distribution department of BRD.
BCR advises its clients to hurry if they want to take a government-guaranteed loan, because it only has EUR20 million left.
“The number of loan applications has been on the rise in the last few months, therefore we are approaching our allocated guarantee cap fast,” said Ioana Mihai, head of the secured loans department of BCR. The bank’s officials have not publicly revealed that they got a new allocation from the government.
The banks looking for an extra allocation are required to notify the SME Loan Guarantee Fund about their intention to request it at least thirty days before the date when they expect to run out of the funds allocated. The Guarantee Fund manages the guarantees allotted by the government and the payments made by banks for loans in default.
The only other bank out of those participating in the First Home to announce it received an additional allocation (EUR11.5 million) was CEC Bank. The government allotted an additional EUR200 million in July to raise the cap of the fourth iteration of the First Home scheme. It guarantees half of the loans granted, while banks take the risk for the remaining half.
The “First Home” has turned out to be a lucrative business for banks so far because only 60 loans were in default. Banks have granted more than 70,000 loans through the scheme, worth a total of EUR2.8 billion.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)