According to IFC website, the project consists of a RON 200 million (approximately USD 50 million) loan package to BCR Leasing. The package is to support provision by BCR Leasing (BCRL) of finance leasing to its core Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) clientele, primarily of vehicles and moveable equipment.

The main objectives of the project are to:
1. Help utilize a proven financial product that would respond to the critical term funding gap for SMEs in Romania
2. Alleviate the difficulty of SMEs in accessing bank financing by using asset-secured lease finance
3. Introduce competition in the financial sector and promote growth and generate employment.

Specifically, the facility is aimed to (i) Address the critical shortage of term funding for SMEs in Romania; (ii) Help deepen financial markets, boosting RON-denominated leasing and mitigating foreign exchange risks; and, (iii) Generate employment through resultant growth of SMEs and investment in productive assets.

BCR, a member of Erste Group, provides universal banking operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), and covers specialty companies working on the leasing market, private pensions and housing finance. BCR is Romania's largest bank in terms of assets (over EUR 15 billion), client base and lending.

Erste Group Bank AG ("Erste") was founded in 1819 as the first Austrian savings bank. Around 46,700 employees are serving 15.9 million clients in almost 2,700 branches in-7 countries. Erste Group is one of the largest financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe.

There is often limited information publicly available about what development banks are funding through financial intermediaries. In 2021, the Early Warning System partnered with Oxfam International to incorporate information on high-risk projects being funded by financial intermediaries receiving funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO).

The information listed below describes the relationship between the different private actors linked to high-risk sectors and subprojects of IFC and FMO's financial intermediary investments and/or the financial intermediary's parent companies made from 2017 through 2020, including any associated ring fences.

The database, however, does not explicitly or implicitly imply that IFC or FMO have material exposure to or are contractually or legally accountable to the sub-projects financed by their financial intermediaries or the financial intermediary's parent companies. It only shows a seemingly financial relationship among the different private actors, the financial intermediaries, and IFC or FMO.

An extended list of private actors is available in a separate file. 

BCR Leasing ("BCR Leasing" or "The Company") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banca Comerciala Romana ("BCR", part of Erste Group) established in 2001. The Company provides domestic financial leasing services for the purchase of capital goods, such as: leasing for the purchase of vehicles, fleets, equipment and industrial machinery, agricultural machinery or medical equipment. Through its specialized subsidiary, BCR Fleet Management, the Company also offers customized operational leasing and fleet management services for cars and light commercial vehicles.

Project Contact: loana Margareta Vasiliu
Business Line Controlling Senior Analyst, BCR Leasing IFN S.A.
Telephone No.: +40 (21) 323 73 10
Email Address: loanaMargareta.Vasiliu@bcr-leasing.ro
Office Address: 8 Piata Alba lulia, bl. I 7, Sector 3, 031105, Bucharest
Website: https://www.bcr-leasing.ro/

General IFC Inquiries
IFC Communications
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/