The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) placed RON 300 mln (EUR 60 mln) as part of the RON 1 bln issue launched by Romania's second-biggest lender, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) - part of Erste Bank Group.

The issue, launched under a private placement procedure and registered with BVB on May 19, will be listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) towards the end of May. It matures in 2028 and carries a 3.9% coupon - meaning that it most likely was issued at a premium.

The issue was operated not for liquidity purposes but for regulatory purposes, BCR's head of investment banking, Ioana Tanase, explained.

"We need to show that we can be independent of shareholders in terms of funding sources," she said, according to Ziarul Financiar.

BCR raised RON 1 bln from institutional investors, such as pension funds, EBRD and IFC, even if on the liquidity side, the stock of deposits exceeds by EUR 4 bln that of loans. "We have a mix of shareholder support and independence in that we have the ability to attract independent sources from the market. It will always be a combination of the two."

BCR issued another RON 600 mln bond in December 2019, listed at BVB as well, which will not be repaid in advance.

andrei@romania-insider.com

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