BT and the bonds that nurture the economy

An investor from London or Singapore who buys a Banca Transilvania bond today indirectly funds a solar panel on a rooftop in Romania. This is the mechanism through which the bank has raised nearly 1.5 billion euros equivalent from 2023 until now through three sustainability-labelled bond issuances. The money was not just paper profit: it was converted into loans for SMEs, green buildings, and renewable energy, and its impact can now be measured in figures. BT secures capital from international markets. It channels it, with priority, into the real economy, and the result is visible in economic output, jobs, and taxes paid to the state budget. The beginning was in December 2023, when Banca Transilvania launched its first sustainable bond issuance: 500 million euros, with a 7.25% coupon and a 2028 maturity, listed on Euronext Dublin. Demand confirmed the interest: over 1.65 billion euros in the order book, from 108 institutional investors across 21 countries.

September 2024 brought the second tranche, amounting to 700 million euros, with a 5.125% coupon and a 2030 maturity. Demand exceeded the issued value by more than three times, reaching 2.5 billion euros, and 131 institutional investors from 28 countries participated in the transaction. Over 64% of them had ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) objectives in their own investment policies. The third issuance, in July 2025, shifted gears: 1.5 billion lei, the first local currency sustainable bond in the Romanian banking system and the largest issuance of this type on the local market. It was listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, with an 8.875% coupon and a seven-year maturity. Nearly half of the subscriptions came from Romanian institutional investors, a sign that the local capital market has gained enough maturity to absorb a transaction of this scale on its own.

The three issuances total the equivalent of nearly €1.5 billion, money raised from the capital markets and directed, through the BT Group Sustainable Financing Framework, toward projects with a measurable impact on the real economy.

Where the money goes

On December 31, 2025, the eligible loan portfolio for the three sustainable bonds reached 5.52 billion euros, 3.68 times larger than the actual amount raised through the bonds. In other words, for every euro raised from the capital market, the bank recorded eligible loans on its balance sheet at the end of 2025 that were nearly four times larger, and 100% of the net proceeds from the three issuances were fully transferred into the local economy. The largest part of this portfolio, over 3.9 billion euros, went toward financing SMEs. Within this category, 3 billion euros means financing for companies in Romania’s underdeveloped regions through some
68,100 loans. Another 656 million euros go to women-owned companies (over 28,500 loans), 126 million euros to start-ups (over 11,300 loans), 106 million euros to independent farmers, and 12 million euros to companies owned by young people up to 30 years old.

The remainder of the portfolio covers environmental areas and access to essential services: over 1 billion euros in green buildings (residential and commercial), 365 million euros in solar energy, nearly 6 million euros in zero-emission transport, and over 221 million euros in medical, primary care, palliative, and dialysis facilities.

Impact

Banca Transilvania’s third Allocation and Impact Report, published in June 2026, provides exact figures for this effect. The portfolio funded by the three bonds prevented 474,446 tons of CO2 equivalent annually and financed 743 MW of installed renewable capacity. The green buildings in the portfolio save nearly 120,000 MWh of energy per year, roughly equivalent to the annual consumption of tens of thousands of households. 

At the economic level, the bank estimates the activity of the companies financed through this portfolio contributed over 3 billion euros to Romania’s gross value added, generated 8.18 billion euros in economic output—more than five times the combined value of the three bonds—and supported over 412,000 jobs.

The engine behind It: the SME portfolio

An independent study conducted by Cambridge Econometrics, also published in June 2026, measures the impact of the entire eligible credit portfolio for SMEs in socio-economically disadvantaged areas: 19.92 billion RON in loans granted to 75,787 small and medium-sized enterprises, which together employ more than 412,000 people. The portfolio has surged by nearly 27% in a single year.

Through the multiplier effect in the economy—including suppliers, salaries, and consumption—this portfolio generated 41.7 billion RON in economic output, 17.1 billion RON in GDP, and 15.4 billion RON in gross value added. It also supported an additional 138,400 jobs across the wider economy, on top of the existing employees of the financed companies. Through this effect, every million RON loaned to a SME generates 2.09 million RON in economic output and supports seven jobs.

By segments, women-owned businesses have a 3.34 billion RON portfolio across 19,702 companies, supporting 24,000 jobs through the multiplier effect—representing 17% of the total impact. Start-ups, though financed with 641 million RON, support 2,600 jobs, while independent farmers, with a portfolio of 542 million RON, support 11,900 jobs. This shows that every leu flows differently into the economy depending on the sector in which it is invested.

For the economy, the message is simple: the capital raised from international markets mostly reaches small and medium-sized enterprises that do not have direct access to these markets. Through them, it reaches their employees, suppliers, and surrounding communities. Ultimately, it is a story of how the capital market can sustain economic growth where it is hardest to reach: at the foundation of the economy.

A gateway to the capital market

The three sustainable bond issuances are part of a broader financing program on the capital markets, totaling 4.5 billion euros. Through its eight bond issuances carried out since 2023, Banca Transilvania has become one of the most active issuers in the region. Each transaction has expanded the international investor base and built, step by step, the trust of investors specialized in fixed-income instruments, while promoting constant communication with investors, business and financial performance, as well as Romania’s potential.

The architecture behind it shows discipline. The first program, Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN I), with a cap of 1 billion euros, was closed in 2023 after the bank raised 790 million euros through a debut issuance on Euronext Dublin, which featured the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as an anchor investor. A few months later, Banca Transilvania listed 200 million euros of subordinated bonds on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, relying on the support of the International Finance Corporation.

This was followed by EMTN II, a broader program whose cap was successively increased from 1.5 billion euros to 3 billion euros, as investors became familiar with the Banca Transilvania name and bossted their appetite for it.

The bank diversified its capital structure and MREL-eligible instruments with two types of instruments that are less visible to the general public but essential for its financial solidity. In November 2025, the bank’s first Additional Tier 1 (AT1) supplementary capital issuance was completed, amounting to 500 million euros and listed on Euronext Dublin. This transaction attracted orders of nearly 2.65 billion euros—over five times the offered value—from more than 180 institutional investors across the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In September 2026, Banca Transilvania debuted on the international financial markets with subordinated bonds worth 500 million euros, with an order book 4 times larger. The transaction was successfully completed in a market environment marred by high volatility and a selective approach by investors toward new issuances. Through careful timing of the launch and maintaining a constant dialogue with international investors, the bank continued to serve as a benchmark for financial performance and discipline in capital management. Both instruments strengthen the bank’s capital indicators and will support the financing of the economy.