The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Romanian lender Banca Transilavnia (BT) have signed a EUR 21 million loan guarantee agreement, for supporting micro-enterprises in Romania, according to the bank.

The agreement, which was signed under the Progress program, will provide easier access to finance to more than 2,000 Romanian micro-enterprises.

“This transaction will allow Banca Transilvania to further develop its lending activity to micro-enterprises in Romania, continuing the cooperation with the EIF, which started with a financing contract signed in 2012,” reads a statement from the Romanian lender.

The Progress program is supported by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, and is managed by the EIF.

Banca Transilvania has posted a net profit of EUR 54.5 million for the first nine months of the year down around 10 percent from 60.3 million in the same period last year.

The bank’s total assets have increased from EUR 6.7 billion to EUR 6.9 billion.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-inisder.com