Agreement between the European Investment Fund and Raiffeisen Bank Romania, with record EUR 400 M guarantees

The European Investment Fund (EIF) grants Raiffeisen Bank Romania two guarantee schemes worth EUR 400 million to finance investments made by SMEs on the local market. The signing of the agreement between EIF and Raiffeisen Bank supports the largest investment plan in recent years, dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises.

The agreement with EIF was also signed by four other banks, with the total amount allocated in the first phase for this financial instrument amounting to EUR 1 billion, which will allow a total financing of EUR 2.5 billion.

Through the two guarantee programs, Raiffeisen Bank targets the area of Sustainability, focusing on supporting SMEs in the transition to the green economy, and Competitiveness, by accessing more advantageous financing conditions (such as: lower advance or longer financing period). They have the capacity to support the granting of loans for small and medium-sized businesses in Romania worth over EUR 600 million over the next 2 years. Also, loans granted under the two new programs will benefit from a preferential interest rate, thus facilitating access to finance.

In the Competitiveness program, the guarantee rate will be between 30% and 70%, while for Sustainability, the guarantee rate will be 70%.

The guarantees are backed by InvestEU, the European Union’s long-term financing program, and Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

“We have a long experience with the European Investment Fund, and we are glad that we have the opportunity to continue this successful partnership, by implementing under the umbrella of InvestEU / PNRR two new financial instruments, which perfectly align with our strategic objectives in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises. We are convinced that, in this way, we will increase their access to finance and, at the same time, we will contribute to strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the entrepreneurial environment in Romania, by facilitating the transition of the real economy to sustainable practices,” said Alina Rus, CFO and Board Member of Raiffeisen Bank Romania.

Raiffeisen Bank Romania has a complex background in implementing the guarantee programs of the European Investment Fund. During the last 10 years, we have carried out 7 such programs in Romania, through which we have provided financing worth over EUR 1 billion, mainly to SMEs.