BT to finance EU-backed projects worth 100m euros

Banca Transilvania (BT) has launched a platform of services dedicated to beneficiaries of EU funds and wants to finance projects worth 100 million euros in 2010, bank officials say. “Most of the times, beneficiaries who have an idea for a project go to consultants, but don’t look into whether they can get funding from a bank or not. That is why applicants complain that they are waiting in vain for the bank to approve the loan for their project, because it does not meet the bank’s conditions, although the project is eligible for EU funding. As far as we are concerned, the beneficiary goes to one of the consultancies with whom we have sealed a partnership. In addition to explaining the services they provide, consultants also inform beneficiaries about the conditions that need to be met in order to obtain a bank loan, so the project can be adjusted, and carried through to its end,” says Leonard Cornoiu, manager of the European programmes department within BT.

The bank has so far sealed partnerships with 20 consultancies. “We would prefer projects benefiting from the new platform to be worth up to 2.5-3 million euros on average, but we have not set limits. So far we have financed EU-funded projects worth around 200 million RON (50 million euros),” adds Cornoiu.