Patria Credit IFN SA, a non-banking financial institution part of Patria Bank Group, announces the signing of a new guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF), through the EUInvest program, for the granting of an additional ceiling of 290 million lei, raising the total value of the ceiling to 495 million lei. The additional value will ensure financing of small businesses worth over 362.5 million lei.
The agreement is included in the EUInvest program, which brings together under the same platform the multitude of European Union financial instruments currently available to support investments in the EU.
Now in its 13th year, through the partnership with the EIF, Patria Credit offers farmers and small businesses loans guaranteed by the European Union (the guarantee covers 80% of the requested amount).
Over 309 million lei have reached local businesses through this facility alone, during this period. The Patria Credit InvestEU product can be requested by any farmer and/or small non-agricultural business, which meets several minimum conditions: it has a small company, with less than 9 employees, for over 1 year, in any form of organization (SRL, SA, PFA, II, IF) or is an individual agricultural producer and requests a loan of maximum 240,000 lei, which it uses to finance current activity, investments, working capital or mixed.
“The signing of a new agreement with the European Investment Fund strengthens our confidence in our mission to increase financial inclusion in rural and small urban areas. For us, microfinance is a long-term concern, and the stability and longevity of Patria Credit in the market has given us a good knowledge of the needs of small farmers and entrepreneurs in the areas where we operate. The partnership represents real support for them, but also a recognition of the experience accumulated in over 20 years of activity,” says Raluca Andreica, CEO Patria Credit.
After 2023, a year with a profit increase of +14% and a net profit of 8.54 million lei, in the first 9 months of 2024, Patria Credit IFN SA continued to offer personalized loans to the main segment (small farmers), thus the portfolio structure was maintained in the third quarter with a high concentration of loans granted to this segment, respectively 84%. As of September 30, 2024, the Patria Credit IFN loan portfolio has a value of 182 million lei, slightly decreasing by 2% compared to September 2023. The net profit recorded as of September 30, 2024 is 5.84 million lei, up by 15% compared to the same period last year.