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Banca Agricola in Romania gets extension to its credit line from EBRD
To meet the continuous demand by Romanian agribusiness companies for medium- to long-term financing, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has extended its existing credit line to Banca Agricola (BA) by US$ 50 million (ECU 38.5 million). The agreement was signed today in Bucharest by David Hexter, Deputy Vice President of the EBRD, and Gheorghe Barbulescu, President of BA. The existing credit line of US$ 70 million was signed on 14 September 1992 and has now been fully committed.
At today’s signing, Mr Hexter said: “The credit line to Banca Agricola has been a successful project which has brought much-needed financing to agribusiness at a particularly important time in its transition. The extension of US$ 50 million is being granted following this success and the continued existence of a strong pipeline of projects from private agribusiness companies".
Mr Barbulescu commented: "The first credit line from EBRD has made a major difference in the Romanian agribusiness sector. Through this operation we have been able to reach companies recently privatised and others in the process of privatisation. This represents a substantial input into the transition process in our country. At the same time, Banca Agricola has continued its transformation into a fully- fledged and efficient commercial bank with a unique role in agriculture and related industries. The extension of the facility will allow us to continue to support the increasing number of sound businesses in this sector".
BA has already identified a strong pipeline of projects targeted at companies with solid investments in areas such as primary production, horticulture, silviculture, fisheries, drinks and related service industries, including transport, marketing, distribution and agricultural inputs.
The extension will be supported by an additional 12-month technical cooperation programme to further consolidate BA’s credit assessment capabilities and enhance its responsiveness to the private sector.
Founded 120 years ago as a private bank, BA was nationalised and incorporated, physically and operationally, into the National Bank of Romania (NRB) in 1947. In 1968, while remaining a 100 per cent state-owned enterprise, BA was devolved from the NRB and permitted to operate as a semi-autonomous unit, serving the agriculture and food-related industries. In 1990, BA became fully independent at all operational levels. Within four years, it has emerged as the largest bank in Romania in terms of assets and loan portfolio.
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