The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 22.3 million to Garanti Bank Romania to support businesses in Romania, the European Commission informed.

Some EUR 5 million of the loan amount is devoted to female entrepreneurs, matched by another EUR 5 million from Garanti Bank.

This transaction is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, or “Juncker Plan”.

This innovative loan tranche will give female entrepreneurs representing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps access to more favourable financing. To be able to access these loans, companies have to be more than 50% owned by one or more women, or 26% to 50% of the shares have to be owned by one or more women, with a woman acting as the company’s chief executive, operating or financial officer.

Romania’s banking system boasts robust liquidity and the volume of deposits exceeds by one third the volume of bank loans -- but there are wide discrepancies between first-tier banks that attract most of the deposits and smaller players. Beside the maturity and currency mismatch, this generates the need for external financing in the local banking system despite the solvency ratios excessively high (of around 20%).

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Garanti Bank)