OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2011. The EBRD is providing a EUR 7 million loan to BCR Chisinau for on-lending to Moldovan companies undertaking energy efficiency investments. The loan is part of the EBRD’s EUR 20 million Moldova Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (MoSEFF) and will enable BCR Chisinau to provide loans worth up to EUR 2 million to private Moldovan companies, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

BCR Chisinau is a commercial bank in Moldova, fully owned by BCR Romania, part of Erste Group Vienna.

The EBRD loan will be used to finance sustainable energy investment undertakings by private Moldovan companies, such as, for example, the  replacement of outdated production and heating equipment, the rehabilitation and replacement of boilers, installation of meters, thermal insulation, and the refurbishment of heat and power distribution systems, biomass, biogas and solar energy projects among others.

Sub-borrowers undertaking energy efficiency investments will benefit from incentive payments granted by the European Union of up to 10-20 per cent of the sub-loan upon the successful completion of the respective sub-projects. The amount of the incentive will depend on the technology and the energy savings achieved as a result of the project.

In addition, the businesses will benefit from free technical assistance in assessing energy saving potential and project implementation.

“Promoting energy efficiency is one of the EBRD’s priorities in the region. This is particularly true in Moldova, a country which is almost entirely dependent on imported energy. The project will help Moldovan companies to reduce their energy consumption and improve overall efficiency, which in turn will contribute to their competitiveness”, said Nick Tesseyman, EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions.

“We are pleased to partner with the EBRD and to support small and medium companies in Moldova with providing the financing for their energy efficiency upgrades. Such investments will help businesses cut their costs and become more environmentally friendly”, said Sorin Andrei, Executive President of BCR Chisinau.

“BCR Romania has a long and outstanding co-operation with EBRD, but this fist transaction with BCR Chisinau has a special significance for us”, said Dominic Bruynseels, the Executive President of BCR Romania and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BCR Chisinau.

Previously the EBRD provided similar facilities to Moldova-Agroindbank and Moldindconbank (both signed on 24 June 2010).

It is expected that all projects implemented under MoSEFF will result in total energy savings of 22,000 MWh per year and an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 6,600 tonnes annually, equivalent to an estimated 2.3 million of cubic meters of imported gas.

To date, the EBRD has committed more than EUR 460 million in various sectors of the Moldovan economy. The EBRD funds mobilised additional investments in excess of EUR 330 million.

BCR Chisinau S.A. started its activity in Moldova as a universal bank on October 22, 1998, with a registered capital of MDL 24 million, which was increased over the years, currently reaching up to 562.750.000 MDL. The bank’s network comprises around 5 sales outlets and 34 ATMs, which serve a portfolio of over 12,000 customers, both individuals and legal entities.  Sole shareholder of BCR Chisinau S. A. is BCR, member of Erste Financial Group, Austria.