Dexia: Municipal funding to reach 40bn euros

The local market of municipal funding will reach approximately 40 billion euros in the next ten years, says Reinhert Platzer, chief executive of Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank, and he wants a large share of it. “We want to become leaders on the municipal funding segment,” says Platzer, CEO of Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank (Dexia-Kom), an institution specialised in granting funds for municipalities, owned by the Belgian group Dexia and Kommunalkredit Austria. He says the rate of growth of this market depends to a great extent on the government”s ambition too, and that the 40 billion-euro level could be attained in a maximum of 15 years. About half of the total volume will be covered by European Union funds and the other half by banks. “A leader ought to have 15%-20% of such a market,” Platzer adds. The bank opened a business office in Romania mid last year. Ever since, it has participated in the bonds issue of the Bucharest municipality and has granted funding for the Mures County Council. ZF