The aim of the agreements is to increase the banks' financing power by €309 million for competitiveness and by €168.75 million for sustainability, allowing them to offer favorable lending conditions for SMEs, including lower interest rates. The transactions complement the 2023 EIF guarantees totaling €1 billion for five Romanian banks.

The EIF's new uncapped direct direct guarantees are backed by the European Commission-led InvestEU program as well as the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The improved lending conditions for SMEs will also include longer maturities and reduced collateral and advance requirements.

"Today's agreements will improve access to finance for Romanian SMEs, thereby contributing to growth, competitiveness and a greener future," said EIF Managing Director Marjut Falkstedt. "They build on the close cooperation between the Romanian government, the European Commission and the EIF to ensure that Romanian businesses get the support they need."

The seven banks will be able to facilitate access to finance for a wider range of businesses - including start-ups - and industries, with loan conditions that would not be available in the absence of EIF guarantees. This in turn will improve business performance, strengthen the Romanian economy and accelerate the country's green transition.

As funding will be available in both lei and euro, the new agreements will also strengthen Romania's cohesion regions by stimulating business expansion, promoting clean transport and supporting value chains.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its core mission is to support micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe by facilitating their access to finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital instruments, guarantees and microfinance instruments specifically targeted at this market segment. In this role, the EIF contributes to the pursuit of key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitization, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability and many others.

The InvestEU Member State Compartment allows Member States to contribute part of their shared management funds, Recovery and Resilience Facility resources and national resources to the InvestEU Fund by setting up a dedicated Member State Compartment. With this voluntary contribution, Member States can take advantage of the InvestEU guarantee to support specific national priorities. Within the Member State compartment, loans, guarantees or equity investments can be offered as a complement to other public and private investments.