The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) last year made investments of 709 million euros in 32 operations in Romania, as part of the record level of investments in the regions where it is present, of 13.1 billion euros in 2022, the financial institution says. Of the total EBRD investments in Romania, investments in the green economy amounted to 436 million euros – 61% of the total.
This was the highest level of EBRD investment in Romania in more than a decade, the second highest level ever achieved and well above the level achieved by the EBRD in 2021, of 546 million euros. The EBRD’s cumulative investments in Romania exceeded the threshold of 10 billion euros.
The previous record for the EBRD’s Romanian investments, recorded in 2009, was of 720 million euros for 23 investments.
The figures for 2022 were achieved in the context of a difficult global economic environment, following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, confirming the significant role of the EBRD in supporting the countries where it operates and its clients.
The EBRD’s turnover in Romania was mainly attributed to the private sector, with 75% of investments supporting private entities.
Romania’s active portfolio amounts to more than 2.5 billion euros, which, together with the annual investment volumes, places the country as one of the top countries in which the international financial institution operates.
Overall, the EBRD’s green economy financing reached 50% of total business volume in 2022, fulfilling for the second consecutive year the institution’s commitment that at least half of its financing in 2025 will be green financing. As a leader in climate finance, the EBRD announced in December that it had fulfilled a second commitment to align all of its activities with the goals of the Paris Agreement on limiting climate change.
“We have done more than break a record, we have exceeded our highest expectations, despite the tragedy of the war with Ukraine and the regional and global crises this event has caused. This impressive operational performance is a testament to the resilience and our determination to support the countries in which we operate and our clients,” said EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso.
The EBRD’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022, was to commit to investing three billion euros for Ukraine in 2022-2023, with the exceptional support of shareholders and donors who share part of the investment risk on which EBRD assumed.
In 2022, the EBRD granted 1.7 billion euros to support Ukraine’s economy and mobilized another 200 million euros from partner banks.