The signing of the agreement whereby ProCredit Bank receives EUR40 million will allow the bank to keep providing funds to its SME customers under extremely advantageous conditions, namely, low interest rates and minimum guarantee requirements, considering that 60% of the value of loan will be covered by the EIF, the bank said in a statement.
On Thursday, five banks signed guarantee agreements for the implementation of the Initiative for SMEs in Romania, aimed at providing new financing for enterprises in all Romanian regions. The five banks are Raiffeisen Bank, ProCredit Bank Romania, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), Banca Transilvania and BancPost. Thus, nearly 3,700 SMEs will get financing.
The Initiative for SMEs is a collaboration between the EIB Group (the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund), the Romanian Government and the European Commission.
The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment.