Raiffeisen Bank Romania clinches €25mln loan with EBRD

The EBRD’s Board of Directors approved a €150 million financing package for three subsidiaries of Raiffeisen International, including Raiffeisen Bank Romania to help address the impact of the international financial crisis on the real economies of these three countries.

“The agreement signed by our majority shareholder with EBRD reflects our long-term commitment to the region. We considered it was a good opportunity to strengthen the bank’s capital in order respond to current challenges of the Romanian market”, said Steven van Groningen (photo), chief executive of Raiffeisen Bank.

Raiffeisen Bank’s subsidiaries in Romania, Ukraine and Russia will thus receive €150mln from EBRD. The financing package will complement the group’s provision of capital and funding of its banks in Eastern Europe, and reflects the commitment of the two institution in the region.

"The decisive actions taken by the EBRD were very supportive for the region. They contributed significantly to stabilizing Central and Eastern Europe and to cushioning the impact of the financial crisis on the transformation process. In addition to our own operational alignment, the financing package will strengthen our subsidiaries, which is also for the benefit of the local economies", said Herbert Stepic, CEO of Raiffeisen International.

The funding offered by the EBRD is part of a coordinated package for Raiffeisen International, alongside the European Investment Bank and the World Bank Group, amounting to a total of up to €1 billion. The investment is part of the joint pledge by the three international financial institutions to provide over €24.5 billion in support of the banking sectors in the region and to fund lending to businesses hit by the global crisis.