Raiffeisen Bank borrows EUR 45 mln from European Investment Bank to finance small medium enterprises projects

Romanian lender Raiffeisen Bank and its subsidiary Raiffeisen Leasing will receive a EUR 45 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), out of which EUR 30 million will go to the bank and the rest to the leasing company. The funding will cover financing for projects being carried out by SMEs, mid-cap companies and municipalities in Romania.

EIB funds will co-finance both investment, as well as working capital projects in the areas of industry and services, as well as small and medium-scale infrastructure schemes promoted by local authorities. “Both EIB loans are designed to decrease the impact of the financial crisis on the SME and mid-cap sector through improved availability of long term finance provided under favorable terms. This will contribute to the strengthening the competitiveness of the Romanian economy,” said Mihai Tanasescu, EIB Vice-President (in picture, right ). The loan is addressed to SMEs and mid-cap entities, but can also be used for local authorities. The lending and leasing products will be provided to companies and local authorities via Raiffeisen Bank's network starting in December. Raiffeisen Bank Romania ended the first half of the year with a net profit of EUR 50 million, a growth of 28 percent on the same period of 2011. With 2 million clients and 359 bank units in Romania, Raiffeisen Bank has 5,700 employees in the country. editor@romania-insider.com (photo, left to right: Steven Van Groningen, Raiffeisen Bank president, Mihai Tanasescu - Vice-Presedent European Investment Bank; photo source: Raiffeisen Bank)