€30 million in new loans to Banca Transilvania for SME financing

The EBRD is providing €30 million in new financing to Banca Transilvania, one of Romania's top commercial lenders, to enable it to continue supporting local small and medium-sized enterprises. A third of this financing will be provided under the EBRD's Romania SME Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (RoSEFF) and will be dedicated specifically to energy efficiency and small scale renewable energy projects.

 Banca Transilvania is one of the most important banks in Romania being majority owned by local investors. The EBRD is a shareholder in the bank with a 14.6 per cent stake. Banca Transilvania has a proven track record in financing small and medium enterprises.

 "Small and medium-sized businesses are crucial for the sustainable development of the Romanian real economy. The EBRD projects with Banca Transilvania will bring more financing to the SME sector, supporting its development at a time when access to finance remains limited. The EBRD financing will also enable local private businesses to implement projects that will reduce their energy intensity, strengthen their competitiveness and operational efficiency,” said Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions.

 "The two agreements signed today with the EBRD will allow us to continue the strategy of supporting and encouraging SMEs within a new sector, namely energy efficiency, but also in terms of their overall growth. We are pleased to continue the traditional cooperation with the EBRD, our significant shareholder and financing partner”- said Horia Ciorcila, Chairman of BT's Board of Directors.

 Technical cooperation for the energy efficiency loan is provided with the support of grant financing from the European Union.

 Since the beginning of its operations, the EBRD has invested about €6 billion in Romania, mobilising over €11 billion for the projects from other sources of financing.