Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Moldova

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Aug 19, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Victoriabank SA

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy
Finance
Industry and Trade

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 8.73 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 7.5
Converted using 2025-08-19 exchange rate.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 8.73 million

Project Cost (USD)

$ 8.73 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Sep 15, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Sep 1, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the EBRD, the project consists of a senior unsecured loan of up to EUR 7.5 million to be provided to Victoriabank, an existing EBRD partner bank in Moldova, for on-lending to eligible micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) under the SME Competitiveness and Inclusion Programme in the Eastern Partnership of the EU. The loan will consist of two tranches, each with a tenor of up to 4 years, (1) EUR 5 million and (2) EUR 2.5 million, with the second tranche uncommitted and available at the sole discretion of EBRD.

The project will enable VB to support the investments of local MSMEs in upgrading their technology and equipment necessary to meet EU standards (product quality, health and safety measures and environmental preservation). At least 70% of the financed sub-loans are expected to comply with EBRD Green Economy Transition approach.

The project will also be Gender Additional as part of the sub-loans financed out of the proceeds of EBRD loan are expected to be on-lent to women-led MSMEs.

70% of the EBRD financing is classified as green finance, as it supports activities to achieve climate mitigation objectives. The attribution is made in line with the methodology to determine the green finance attribution of EBRD investments.

The proposed EaP SMECI sub-operation is complemented by grant funding (TC and Non-TC) sourced from the EU through the Delegation Agreement between EBRD and the European Commission on the SME Competitiveness and Inclusion Programme in Eastern Partnership. Eligible sub-borrowers will receive technical assistance funded by the EU and grant support in the form of investment incentives.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The EBRD categorized the project environmental and social risk as 'FI'.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Financial Intermediary

A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

Victoriabank SA (Financial Intermediary)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, Victoriabank is the 3rd largest commercial bank in Moldova as of end-June 2025, with EUR 1.4 billion in total assets and market shares of 11.9% and 15.3% in loans and deposits, respectively.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Financial Intermediary - Victoriabank SA:

Stela Fabian
Email: stela.fabian@vb.md
Address: 31 August str., 141, Chisinau, Moldova
Website: https://www.victoriabank.md/en

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html