Raiffeisen Bank Romania secures EUR 25 million loan from the EBRD

EBRD will grant Raiffeisen Bank România a EUR 25 million loan, as part of the agreement concluded with the bank"s majority shareholder Raiffeisen International, according to a press release sent yesterday.

The amount is part of a package intended to strengthen the capitalization of Raiffeisen"s subsidiaries in order to support their lending to enterprises, Raiffeisen said in a statement.

The board of the EBRD approved a financing package of EUR150 million in subordinated loans for three of the subsidiaries of Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG, including Raiffeisen Bank România, intended to alleviate the impact of the international financial crisis on the economies of Ukraine, Russia and Romania.

Steven van Groningen, the president of Raiffeisen Bank Romania, said: "The agreement concluded with our majority shareholder reflects our long term commitment of the two institutions to the regional market. We deemed it prudent to strengthen the bank"s capitalization, to allow us to react to the current opportunities and challenges of the Romanian market".

Raiffeisen"s Ukrainian unit, Bank Aval, will receive EUR100 million in subordinated loans, while EUR25 million will be channeled to Raiffeisenbank in Russia.

The funding offered by the EBRD is part of a co-ordinated package for Raiffeisen International, which, with contributions also from the European Investment Bank and the World Bank Group, amounts to a total of EUR1 billion, Raiffeisen said.

The three institutions have committed to lending over 24.5 billion to banks in Eastern Europe, and to companies affected by the global crisis.

Raiffeisen Bank Romania had a net profit of 52 million Euros in H1 2009.