Six local banks, namely Raiffeisen Bank, ProCredit Bank, BCR, Banca Transilvania, Bancpost and ING will sign tomorrow operational agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) for EUR 400 million in funding to finance small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).

Banks will provide these loans for new investments and working capital. The total amount of funding for SMEs will be over EUR 500 million because of the multiplier effect.

EIB Group, the European Commission and the Romanian Government signed the Cooperation Agreement in Bucharest in October last year.

There are 450,000 SMEs with a turnover of EUR 100,000 in Romania, according to data from the Romanian Banking Association (ARB), cited by local Ziarul Financiar. Only 80,000 of these had profits last year. This indicates a poor solvency claim on this segment, according to ARB.

editor@romania-insider.com