Of the roughly 60,000 companies that applied under the IMM Invest programme, more than 22,000 chose Banca Transilvania. So far, BT has contacted over 12,000 customers and nearly 500 loan applications have been approved.

“The very large number of companies that have turned to IMM Invest is encouraging; it shows the economy’s vitality and the positive response to this initiative. BT suggests that the interest subsidy mechanism should be of the type x months from approval of the IMM Invest guarantee, rather than until a fixed date (December 31), so that every business entering the programme receives the same support irrespective of when it is approved.”- says Tiberiu Moisa, Deputy General Manager, MidCorporate & SME, Banca Transilvania.

At Banca Transilvania, around 1,500 team members are prioritising IMM Invest. Other departments have been brought in and standard workflows have been reorganised. “BT estimates that the pace will pick up and, starting next week, we will see 100-150 cases approved and uploaded to the fund’s portal each day. We are not ruling out further simplifications. Every request matters and we know it makes a difference to people. We look at each one carefully.” – adds Tiberiu Moisa.

BT’s recommendations: 

• Entrepreneurs should pay close attention to planned investments and take up IMM Invest only if they have confidence in their business.
• How the additional liquidity provided by the IMM Invest programme is managed depends on the quality of business decisions.
• A solid understanding of the documentation stage. Entrepreneurs need to be very clear about what they are signing and committing to, as they are entering into a long-term relationship with the bank and the State.
• IMM Invest is first and foremost a programme for access to credit, not a grant scheme.

What BT looks at in its credit analysis:

• Financial performance;
• The quality and reputation of the people who built the business;
• Collateral – it is important, but it is not decisive on its own.

The opportunity IMM Invest offers entrepreneurs is access to liquidity — via the state guarantee mechanism and the interest subsidy through year-end — which is important in reducing costs. Banca Transilvania has a cap of 3.4 billion lei.