One of Romania’s two state-owned banks, CEC Bank or Eximbank, will become a development bank and will help the state provide co-financing for projects financed through European funds and finance the local economy as well, according to Eugen Teodorovici, the minister in charge with EU funds.

In order to attract EU funds, local authorities and private companies also need co-financing, and this should be provided by this development bank. The minister already had talks with Romania’s National Bank and with the Finance Ministry about the change, according to mediafax newswire.

CEC Bank is the fifth largest bank in Romania, with a 7% market share, while Eximbank is smaller and specializes in granting state guarantees as well as financing companies, especially exporters.

editor@romania-insider.com