Bucharest, May 21 , 2020- Banca Comercială Română Group, through BCR, BCR Social Finance and Erste Foundation places at the disposal of the non-profit sector in Romania funding amounting in total to EUR 730,000, with zero interest for 2020, in order to help overcome this crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The interest is fully subsidized by the Erste Foundation for the credit used until December 31, 2020. The funds are granted in RON and they may have as destination the covering of working capital or implementing European projects with non-reimbursable funds. Loans are granted for a 12-18 months period in case of working capital or for 3 months after the date of collection of the grant or subsidy, in case of European pre-funding or various types of grants.

”The non-profit sector was one of the most dynamic segments of the Romanian society throughout this period marked by the pandemic, starting from March until now. The NGOs raised funds, obtained masks, equipment and food for the first line defenders. They got involved in education, technology, they contributed to maintaining Romania in working condition, despite the challenges. And they did a very good job, but, despite the fund-raising campaigns,during which the best known associations manage to self-fund, the rest of the NGOs most of the time face a liquidity shortage which may affect their operation. This is why we believe that mobilizing such funding, as those offered by means of this program, may really support these organizations", says Ștefan Buciuc, CEO BCR Social Finance.

The funds made available through this program are limited and will be allocated depending on requests, until July 31, 2020. Loans will be granted to non-profit organizations which may prove registration in the Associations and Foundations Register and which may prove the social impact created. The other eligibility conditions for granting the financing lines are the following:

• Having at least three financial years concluded for BCR and at least two financial years in case of BCR Social Finance - mandatory condition
• Clearly outlining the funding need and the sources for repaying the loan - mandatory condition
• Not having negative own funds during the last financial year in the latest trial balance - non-knockout condition in case of BCR Social Finance
• Not registering net losses during the last 2 consecutive financial years - non-knockout condition in case of BCR Social Finance

The interest rate is subsidized by Erste foundation throughout 2020 and starting with 2021 it will be paid by the customer. In case of BCR, this means a variable interest rate composed of a fixed margin of 2%-3.5%+ ROBOR 6M, with a granting commission comprised between 0%-0.2% and an analysis commission of between lei 0 and 500, whereas in case of BCR Social Finance the interest rate is fixed at 6%, there is a fixed granting commissions of 0.2% and an yearly administration commission of 3.6%.

Further details can be obtained at the following e-mail addresses: FinantariONG@bcr.ro (BCR) sau info@bcr-socialfinance.ro (BCR Social Finance).

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BCR Social Finance S.A. is a non-banking financial institution, a subsidiary of Banca Comercială Română, founded in 2009 under the name of good.bee Credit (GBC). Currently, it represents the association between Erste Social Finance Holding GmbH (51%) and Banca Comerciala Romana S.A. (49%). BCR Social Finance IFN is regulated by specific laws and regulations issued by and under the supervision of the National Bank. Erste Social Finance Holding GmbH is the financial inclusion component of Erste Group (60%) and ERSTE Foundation (40%). Founded in 2008 by the ERSTE Foundation and the Erste Group, its purpose is contributing to prosperity and facilitating access to financial services for all, by investments integrated into the social infrastructure, social services, human capital and developing abilities, innovation, microfunding and social economy in the EEC. area.

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Banca Comercială Română (BCR), a member of Erste Group, is one of the most important financial groups in Romania, including universal bank operations (retail, corporate & investment banking, treasury and capital markets) as well as leasing, private pensions and housing bank companies.

BCR provides a wide range of financial products and services, through a network of 19 business centers and 17 mobile offices dedicated to companies, as well as through a network of 430 retail branches, located in most localities in the country having more than 10,000 integrated BCR is the no. 1 bank in Romania on the banking transactions market, BCR customers benefiting from the largest ATM and MFM network - almost 2,000 pieces of equipment, 15,300 POSs and full banking services provided by means of Internet banking, Mobile banking, Phone-banking and E-commerce.

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Erste Group is one of the main financial services providers in Eastern European Union. 47,700 employees serve 16.2 million customers within 2,500 branches in 7 countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia) At the end of 2018, Erste Group held total assets of EUR 236.8 billion, registered a net profit of EUR 1.79 billion, as well as tier 1 capital ratio (Basel 3, fully implemented) of 13.5%.

BCR - Communication:

Cătălin Ioniță, e-mail: catalin.ionita@bcr.ro phone no: 0740.247.336

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