ProCredit, a small bank specialising in lending to smallentrepreneurs, was forced to rethink its lending policy, shiftingfrom granting RON-denominated loans to euro-denominated ones, as ithas faced major problems in refinancing its portfolio after thecash crunch of the 2008 autumn. "(...)We had a shock and it took ussix months to correct it. We now have a balanced account, half RONloans, half euro ones," says Gian Marco Felice, ProCredit Bankgeneral manager. ProCredit went into the red in 2009 on the soaringfunding costs, to which bad-loan provisions were added. ProCredithas a small loan portfolio, worth as much as 200m euros, in thecontext where the average value of loans granted is also low, ofaround 5,000 euros. "The euro will be the dominant currency in thefollowing years. We've decided it's better for us to also bet onthe euro," Felice says. The bank has easy access to euro fundingfrom its shareholders, but is also attracting foreign-currencydeposits on the Romanian market.
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