Rekkers, BT: Small companies, first to be hit by crisis, showing signs of rebound

Banca Transilvania (BT) plans to grant 300m euros' worth of unsecured loans to small and medium-sized companies this year, a segment where it holds a solid position traditionally and where it still sees the possibility of lucrative deals.
"We want to grow after almost three years during which we and our clients have stagnated. Small companies were the first in trouble at the onset of the crisis and the same segment is the first to show signs of a rebound," said Robert Rekkers, the bank's general manager.

He says BT needs to gain market share on the SME segment this year, but also in terms of total assets, after having boosted its general market share from 5.8% to 6.3% in 2010, as well.
The bank yesterday launched an unsecured loan for small firms, through which funding worth as much as 60,000 RON can be obtained, at a 12% interest per annum. Rekkers hopes the new loan will bring 6,000 new clients in 12 months.
He showed that on the SME segment the weight of bad loans has already stabilised. Instead, he expects further trouble on the retail and large company segments.