BT takes 20m euros from DEG to fund SMEs

Banca Transilvania (BT), the fourth largest bank in the system in terms of assets, has taken out credit worth 20 million euros from German fund DEG. The bank will use these funds to sustain its lending operations on the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises, which the bank has been specialising in for several years now, as well as its retail banking operations. “The 20 million-euro funding will support our efforts to grow on the markets we have focused on so far,” says Ionut Patrahau, deputy general manager of Banca Transilvania. This is the fourth instalment of funding that the bank has taken out from DEG. Banca Transilvania is the largest local privately-held bank with a majority of Romanian capital, having climbed in the ranking of top players as a result of rapid growth in the last few years. The BT’s main shareholder is the EBRD, with 15% of the shares, while the SIFs (financial investment companies) also have significant stakes. However, BT cannot access funding from foreign markets as easily as the other private banks held by international groups, which can turn to their shareholders for funds. This has prompted BT to resort to bond issues and syndicated loans to fund its growth, with demand coming from local clients mainly focused on foreign currency funding.