UniCredit Tiriac Bank has so far lent around EUR 25 million to clients via the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises (JEREMIE) initiative. The loans with preferential conditions reached a 30 percent absorption rate from the JEREMIE agreement value signed with the European Investment Fund (EIF). This allows the bank to give some EUR 87 million more in new loans. The JEREMIE guarantee covers 80 percent of the loan value.

The JEREMIE – backed loans have an interest rate lower by up to 100 basis points, lower guarantees, which can vary between 0 and 70 percent depending on the company's financial situation, and zero costs. The loan value for a small or medium company can go up to EUR 1.8 million, for 12 to 72 months.

So far, UniCredit Tiriac bank has had 100 small and medium enterprises contract loans via this program, at an average value per loan of EUR 280,000. Most of the companies work in retail and production.

JEREMIE has helped over 1,500 small and medium companies in Romania get around EUR 160 million in loans so far, according to Hubert Cottogni, Deputy Director, Head of the Regional Business Development with EIF.

JEREMIE is a new way of using European funds to support SMEs. In Romania, it started with the guarantee facility via several local banks, and then created a risk capital instrument that financed the fund Catalyst Romania, which supports small and medium enterprises in the technology- media – telecom fields.

editor@romania-insider.com