CEC Bank has concluded a new financing agreement, worth 50 million euros, with the European Investment Bank (EIB), through financing schemes dedicated to the economies affected by COVID-19, informs a bank release sent to AGERPRES on Monday.
The amounts can already be made available to the bank's customers.
Through the new financing agreement, CEC Bank can offer medium-term loans (up to 5 years), with an interest rate reduced by at least 0.25% compared to the standard interest rate.
"Through this new financing agreement, we continue the good collaboration we have had with the EIB since 2013 and diversify the resources available to finance the economy, especially for SMEs and mid-cap companies. The financing provided by the EIB contributes to improving companies' access to credit and allows us to support investment projects that contribute to the modernization and diversification of economic activity and the maintenance and/or creation of new jobs," said Bogdan Neacsu, president, CEO of CEC Bank, quoted in the release.
This is a new type of financing developed by the EIB in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support the revival of the SME sector, and CEC Bank is the first bank in Romania to access EIB financing in response to COVID-19.
The collaboration between CEC Bank and the EIB began in 2013, and this is the third financing agreement signed by the two parties. The previous agreements were signed in 2013 and 2014, respectively, and had a cumulative value of 145 million euros.
Through the sources attracted from the EIB so far, CEC Bank has provided financing worth about one billion lei for over 1,500 companies.
CEC Bank is the financial institution with the longest tradition. Founded in 1864, CEC Bank currently has the largest national network, with over 1,000 branches and territorial units, with assets of over 36 billion lei, at the end of the first half of 2020. The Romanian state, through the Ministry of Public Finance, is the sole shareholder of CEC Bank, and in November 2019, following the European Commission's agreement, the bank's capital was increased by 940 million lei.(1 euro=rd 4.87 lei).