BT extends EBRD credit line: 15 mln euro more to SMEs investing in energy efficiency

Banca Transilvania receives additional 15 million euro funds from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the amount provided through this credit line being destined to lend small and medium-sized enterprises investing in energy efficiency projects. The finance agreement was signed on November 18, 2014, announces the Cluj-headquartered bank.

“The agreement signed with the EBRD today brings multiple benefits: for the environment in terms of lower carbon emissions; for the economy, by means of improved industrial competitiveness; for our clients, who can make investments that bring tangible financial savings, either as lower energy bills through energy efficiency or as revenue stream from renewable energy; and, lastly, for Banca Transilvania, because we are able to provide financial support to profitable and technically viable investment projects”, commented Omer Tetik, CEO of Banca Transilvania.

Provided under the RoSEFF financing programme (EBRD’s Romania SME Sustainable Energy Financing Facility), this is the second such facility granted to BT by the EBRD. The first energy efficiency loan, worth 10 million euro, was released in 2012 and it has already been used, the number of beneficiaries coming to 34.

“This is a good time for Romanian SMEs to focus on how to become more competitive, cut energy consumption and reduce costs. (...) We are impressed with the response to the first loan and are confident that the bank has a strong pipeline for further successful energy efficiency investments by SMEs”, said Phil Bennet, EBRD First Vice President.

The EBRD, which is the largest institutional investor in Romania, with nearly 7 billion euro invested in over 360 projects to date, controls 15 percent of BT’s shares, as main shareholder.