BUCHAREST, April 11, 2005 —
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a $27.5 million loan to Romania’s Banca Commerciala Ion Tiriac. The agreement was signed today by Ana Maria Mihaescu, IFC’s chief of mission in Romania, and Selcuk Saldirak, Banca Tiriac’s chief executive officer.
IFC’s financing will broaden Banca Tiriac’s funding base and support its operations. This will help expand the term finance market for corporates and small and medium enterprises in Romania.
Jyrki Koskelo, IFC’s director for financial markets, noted, “IFC’s participation in this project is part of an ongoing effort to assist Romania’s financial sector in meeting an increased demand for high-quality, customer-focused financial services. This demand is coming especially from small and medium businesses.”
Khosrow Zamani, IFC's director for Southern Europe and Central Asia, added, “IFC is pleased to support financial institutions like Banca Tiriac that strive for high standards and seek to lead the market by adopting best practices.”
Selcuk Saldirak, chief executive officer of Banca Tiriac, said, “High quality products and services for small and medium enterprises are a key element of Banca Tiriac’s development strategy, reflecting the high potential of this market segment in terms of growth and profitability. Our partnership with IFC will put us in a better position to meet the growing needs of SMEs in a dynamic economy. We are honored that IFC considers Banca Tiriac a trustworthy partner for its long-term projects in Romania.”
Founded in 1991, Banca Tiriac was the first privately owned Romanian bank established after the fall of Communism in 1989. It is Romania’s sixth-largest bank in terms of net worth and its tenth-largest in total assets, with about a 3 percent share of the country’s banking system. The bank has a rapidly expanding network of 60 branches and 200 ATMs.
The mission of IFC (
www.ifc.org)
is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
