- EBRD lends €50 million to support Romania’s micro, small and medium businesses
- Loan to Unicredit Leasing Corporation will finance leasing by local firms in Romania
- Part of the financing will be aligned with EBRD’s green goals
The EBRD is lending €50 million to UniCredit Leasing Corporation to support lessees from Romania’s micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs). The loan will ensure these firms maintain uninterrupted access to finance, while diversifying the client’s funding base and helping it become more competitive and resilient.
The credit line will help expand lease financing to private businesses in Romania, encouraging them to invest in high performance standards, technologies and services, enabling them to become more competitive and energy efficient.
Part of the use of proceeds will be aligned with the EBRD’s green goals. Under the EBRD’s Green Economic Transition approach, the Bank aims to align all its business with the goal of the Paris Agreement on limiting climate change to 1.5C by 1 January 2023, and it will make at least half its investments green by 2025.
This loan lies within the EBRD’s Financial Intermediary Framework. Through bank loans, SME lending programmes, equity investments and support for other financial services such as insurance and leasing, the EBRD engages with various providers of financial services, known as financial intermediaries, to develop the financial sectors in its regions and to foster entrepreneurship.
UniCredit Leasing Corporation IFN S.A., owned by UniCredit Bank Romania S.A. and UniCredit Consumer Financing IFN S.A is the largest leasing company operating in Romania. With its wide regional outreach, UniCredit Leasing is well positioned to provide finance to MSMEs and attract new clients.
The EBRD’s focus in Romania is on financing infrastructure, especially in the regions, boosting private sector productivity and further developing the financial sector and capital markets. To date, the EBRD has financed 497 projects in Romania for a total of more than €10 billion.
