Bucharest, 1 august 2017 – BCR signed yesterday the collaboration convention with Business Environment, Commercial and Entrepreneurship Minister, becoming one of the official banks partnering in Start-Up Nation program.

“Supporting innovation and confidence in the spirit of initiative must be an important part of our goals as a nation, as a country. The Start-Up Nation program can be a milestone in the effort to build a sustainable entrepreneurial segment, but it needs to last for at least 5-10 years. As promoters of active people’ involvement in developing and supporting economic initiatives, we have decided to get involved in this program and give our beneficiaries the most advantageous conditions, both in terms of funding and associated costs, and of disinterested financial education that we have to offer here. We will do whatever is necessary so that those who apply in this program really feel they have us by their side and can truly rely on a trusted partner at this fresh new start”, stated Sergiu Manea, CEO of BCR.

After being accepted in the governmental program, the beneficiaries can apply at BCR for the two products especially developed by the bank in order to support a new-born business: Start-Up Nation Current Account Package and Start-Up Nation Bridge Loan:

Start-Up Nation Current Account Package:

• ZERO lei when opening and managing the account every month
• ZERO lei for the debit card administration
• ZERO lei for managing the Internet Banking service
• ZERO lei for transactions made through Internet Banking – only Trans/Fond/NBR commissions will be paid
• ZERO lei for intra-bank payment orders (transfer BCR - BCR) and interbank (transfer from other banks from Romania to BCR)
• ZERO lei for BCR Alert Plus Service, through which the beneficiary recevices SMS or e-mail for cash inflows and payments made to / from the current account of BCR
• 23% discount on the Electronic Signature Package

The Start-Up Nation Loan Package, at a level of 100% of the amount of the non-reimbursable financial allocation from the Program, which includes:

• Interest: 3,5%/year, the best of the participating banks
• Total credit fees: no more than 2% of the amount of the credit
• Guarantees: 80% of the loan amount, guaranteed by the National Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (FNGCIMM) and in addition guarantee with the goods purchased under the program; mortgage on current accounts opened at BCR; fidejussion.
• Establishment of a collateral deposit at related interest rate, during the lending period
• ZERO costs for certification verification of expenses in the field
• Debit credit analysis and settlement period: maximum 20 days after requesting the credit

The current Start-Up Nation account is already available in BCR branches and can be accessed by both those who have qualified in the program in order to prepare themselves for accesing the governement funds or the bridge loan, as well as those who have been rejected, but they do not want to give up the idea of developing a business.        

Besides the strictly financial offer, BCR proposes to entrepreneurs a unique financial education package, which will provide them with educational materials, that help them understand the steps to be taken when starting a business. BCR will also organize special courses in branches all over the country, aiming to familiarize enterpreneurs with elementary accounting concepts, but also with concepts such as understanding the role of the bank in capitalizing companies, identifying financial needs, types of financing and guarantees, as well as strategies for intelligent financial decisions.

BCR currently has 514 territorial units, one of the best-represented banking networks in the whole country, both in urban areas and as elected in rural areas.

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Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is the most important financial group in Romania, including operations of universal bank (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets), as well as specialized companies on the leasing market, private pensions, housing banks and banking services. BCR is No. 1 bank in Romania on the assets value (over EUR 14.8 billion), No. 1 Bank by number of clients and No. 1 bank by savings and financing segments. BCR is the most valuable financial brand from Romania, considering the degree of trust of the clients and the number of people for whom BCR is the main banking institution.

BCR offers a complete range of products and financial services through a network of 22 business centres and 18 mobile offices for companies and 514 retail units located in major cities across the country with over 10,000 inhabitants. BCR is the No. 1 bank in Romania on the bank transaction market, BCR clients having available the largest national network of ATMs – over 2,000 ATMs and POSs – over 15,200 card payment terminals to merchants, as well as full service Internet banking, Mobile Banking, Phone-banking and E-commerce. 

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Erste Group is one of the main financial service providers from the Eastern European Union. 46,700 employees serve 15.9 million clients in 2,700 branches from 7 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia). At the end of the third trimester of 2016, Erste Group had total assets in amount of EUR 206.8 billion, a net profit of EUR 1.18 billion, and also 1^st rank common capital index (Basel 3 fully integrated) of 13.2%.

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BCR – External Communication 

Catalin Ionita, e-mail: georgecatalin.ionita@bcr.ro

This information is also available on our web page at: www.bcr.ro

For details regarding BCR products and services, we are kindly asking you to use the following contact modalities

InfoBCR

Web: www.bcr.ro

Email: contact.center@bcr.ro

TelVerde: 0800.801.BCR (0800.801.227), apelabil gratuit din toate reţelele naţionale