notiuni de creditare

Proiect cofinanţat din Fondul Social European prin Programul Operaţional Sectorial Dezvoltarea Resurselor Umane 2007 – 2013 Investeşte în oameni! FONDUL SOCIAL EUROPEAN Axa prioritară 1: Educaţia şi formarea în sprijinul creşterii economice şi dezvoltării societăţii bazate pe cunoaştere Domeniul major de intervenţie 1.2: Programe de studii mai bune pentru studenți și piața muncii Titlul proiectului: Aplicarea metodologiilor de cercetare științifică în domeniul științelor medicale și promovarea culturii antreprenoriale pentru facilitarea inserției pe piața muncii a studenților mediciniști din ciclul de studii universitare de licență Numărul de identificare al contractului: POSDRU/156/1.2/G/141745 Beneficiar: Universitatea de Medicină şi Farmacie „Carol Davila” din Bucureşti

Avizat1,

prof. univ. dr. Ioana-Anca BĂDĂRĂU

Responsabil stiintific pentru activitatea A2

READER MODUL

NOTIUNI DE BAZA IN CREDITARE

Realizat, Marian Mugurel Munteanu Expert elaborare și susținere module de formare pentru studenți pt. activitatea A2(S)

Cuprins:

I. Antreprenoriat si profesia medicala

1. Koelewijn, Wout T, Matthijs de Rover, Michel Ehrenhard si Wim H Van Harten.

2014.„Physician’ entrepreneurship explained: a case study of intra-organizational

dynamics in Dutch hospitals and specialty clinics”, Human Resouces for Health: 12-

28;

2. Kovalainen, Anne si Johanna Osterberg-Hogstedt.2013. „Entrepreneurship within

social and health care”, International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship 5 (1):

17-35;

II. Mediul antreprenorial romanesc

1. Dumitrescu, Alina Ligia.2014.”Small and medium Sized Enterprises as the Driving

Force of Romanian Economic Growth”, Knowledge Horizons-Economics 6(2): 49-53;

2. Armeanu, D., Istudor, N. and Lache, L., 2015. The Role of SMEs in Assessing the

Contribution of Entrepreneurship to GDP in the Romanian Business Environment.

Amfiteatru Economic 17(38): 195-211;

III. Finantarea IMM-uri si activitatea de creditare

1. American Bankers Association, „The Business of Banking”

2. Asociatia Romana a Bancilor, www.educatiefinanciara.info, „Accesarea unui credit”

3. Asociatia Romana a Bancilor, www.educatiefinanciara.info , „Dictionar de termeni”

4. Asociatia Romana a Bancilor, www.educatiefinanciara.info , „Drepturi si obligatii

ale consumatorului”

5. Asociatia Romana a Bancilor, www.educatiefinanciara.info , „Cum sa-mi gesionez

bugetul”,

http://www.educatiefinanciara.info/




6. Asociatia Romana a Bancilor, www.educatiefinanciara.info , „Riscul unui credit”

7. Raiffeisen Bank, Conditii generale de derulare a operatiunilor bancare pentru persoane

juridice si entitati fara personalitate juridica.

8. Dedu, Vasile si Adrian Enciu. „Loan Products Included in the Offer of Commercial

Banks”, Theoretical and Applied Economics: 67-74;

9. Silivestru(Popescu), Daniela Rodica.2012.” BANK LOANS AND SMALL FIRM

FINANCING IN ROMANIA”, Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 14(1):

178-189;

10. BĂDULESCU, Daniel.2010. „SMEs Financing: the Extent of Need and the Responses

of Different Credit Structures”, Theoretical and Applied Economics 7(548):25-36;

11. Munteanu, Irina si Anca Bran. “The Influence of the Active Rate of Interest over the

Financing Decision of the Enterprise”, Theoretical and Applied Economics :67-72;

12. Oncioiu, Ionica. 2012. „Small and Medium Enterprises’ Access to Financing – A

European Concern: Evidence from Romanian SME”, International Business Research;

5(8): 47-58;

IV. Intrebari de verificare


CASE STUDY Open Access

Physician’ entrepreneurship explained: a casestudy of intra-organizational dynamics in Dutchhospitals and specialty clinicsWout T Koelewijn1*, Matthijs de Rover1, Michel L Ehrenhard2 and Wim H van Harten1

Abstract

Background: Challenges brought about by developments such as continuing market reforms and budgetreductions have strained the relation between managers and physicians in hospitals. By applying neo-institutionaltheory, we research how intra-organizational dynamics between physicians and managers induce physicians tobecome entrepreneurs by starting a specialty clinic. In addition, we determine the nature of this change byanalyzing the intra-organizational dynamics in both hospitals and clinics.

Methods: For our research, we interviewed a total of fifteen physicians and eight managers in four hospitals andtwelve physicians and seven managers in twelve specialty clinics.

Results: We found evidence that in becoming entrepreneurs, physicians are influenced by intra-organizationaldynamics, including power dependence, interest dissatisfaction, and value commitments, between physicians andmanagers as well as among physicians’ groups. The precise motivation for starting a new clinic can vary depending onthe medical or business logic in which the entrepreneurs are embedded, but also the presence of an entrepreneurialnature or nurture. Finally we found that the entrepreneurial process of starting a specialty clinic is a process of sedimentedchange or hybridized professionalism in which elements of the business logic are added to the existing logic of medicalprofessionalism, leading to a hybrid logic.

Conclusions: These findings have implications for policy at both the national and hospital level. Shared ownership andaligned incentives may provide the additional cement in which the developing entrepreneurial values are ‘glued’ to thecentral medical logic.

Keywords: Hospitals, Specialty clinics, Physicians, Managers, Entrepreneurship

BackgroundIn the Netherlands, a system of regulated competitionwith a mandate for individuals to purchase insurance wasintroduced in 2006. In addition, reforms containing ele-ments from managed competition were implemented asthe former lump-sum financing system was graduallyreplaced by a fee-for-service system. This, combinedwith the favourable treatment of specialty clinics, caused anincrease in entrepreneurial activities. The number of spe-cialty clinics (many of which were founded by physician-entrepreneurs) rose by 62% from 149 in 2007 to 241 in

2010, while the total revenue of these clinics tripled to 315million euros, equaling roughly 2.5% of the total hospitalbudget [1]. These developments were supported by theDutch Healthcare Authority, which advocated more spe-cialty clinics because of their substantially lower chargescompared to hospitals [1], while in addition, the DutchHealth Care Inspectorate pointed at the positive develop-ments with regard to the quality of care provided by spe-cialty clinics [2,3]. In the media as well, specialty clinicswere being welcomed as efficient providers, providing fastaccess to patient-oriented care [4-7].Despite the positive perception of physicians’ entrepre-

neurship as a part of managed competition, it still remaineda relatively rare phenomenon as the vast majority of physi-cians continued to work in hospitals, leaving the start of

* Correspondence: [email protected] of Health Technology and Services Research, School ofManagement and Governance, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5,Enschede 7522, NB, The NetherlandsFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

© 2014 Koelewijn et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, andreproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public DomainDedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article,unless otherwise stated.

Koelewijn et al. Human Resources for Health 2014, 12:28http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/12/1/28

mailto:[email protected]

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/healthspendingcontinuestooutpaceeconomicgrowthinmostoecdcountries.htm

specialty clinics to the ‘entrepreneurial few’. At times,the entrepreneurial ambitions of these physicians re-sulted in fierce conflicts with hospital management whofelt surprised by their aspirations [8,9]. This triggeredthe questions answered in this paper: What drives physi-cians’ entrepreneurship? In answering this question wewill adopt a neo-institutional perspective focusing on bothcontextual- as well as intra-organizational dynamics.Over time, the rising demand for care, the continuous

stream of technological innovations and health care re-forms, reinforced by the financial crisis, have strained therelationship between physicians and managers in manyhospitals [10,11]. This relationship, however, embodies ‘acritical determinant of the success of health care organiza-tions’ [12-16].On a more fundamental level, the relationship between

physicians and managers is influenced by institutionallogics [17], consisting of ‘taken-for-granted rules’; theseare influential in shaping both organizational fields, suchas health care, and the behaviour of organizations, groups,and individuals working in these fields [18]. In general,physicians are embedded in the traditional logic of medicalprofessionalism, which includes values like external orien-tation and physicians’ autonomy. In contrast, hospitalmanagers are embedded in the logic of business-likehealth care [19], focusing on values such as efficiency, andperformance and quality indicators [17]. These differentlogics and accompanying value commitments are compet-ing for dominance and lead to rivalry between the twogroups. [16,17,19-22].Neo-institutional theory allows for further analysis of

these rivalries between groups within organizations. Inparticular, the framework by Greenwood and Hinings [23]is well-suited to study intra-organizational dynamics.Figure 1 depicts how intra-organizational dynamics, con-sisting of power dependencies, interest dissatisfaction, and

value commitments, may lead to radical organizationalchange. Next, we briefly explain our core constructs andtheir meaning in a health care context.The growing dominance of business-like health care at

the expense of the traditional logic of medical profes-sionalism has altered physicians’ perceived power de-pendence on management. It has decreased physicians’autonomy, potentially leading to interest dissatisfaction -especially for physicians embedded in the logic of med-ical professionalism. Greenwood and Hinings [23] definesuch interest dissatisfaction as ‘the degree of dissatisfac-tion of groups and individuals with the existing distribu-tion of resources and their motivation to enhance orsustain their shares of scarce and valued resources’. Anincrease in interest dissatisfaction will influence physi-cians’ value commitments.Value commitments vary according to their embed-

dedness in a certain logic [23]. In the case of ‘status-quocommitment’ and ‘indifferent commitment’ there willonly be limited if any intra-organizational dynamics,since organizational groups are respectively committedto the status quo or are indifferent about which logic isdominant. However, when all organizational groups agreea change of logic is necessary they have a ‘reformativecommitment’. Alternatively, when one group challengesthe dominance of the logic held by another group thereare ‘competitive commitments’ and there will be strongintra-organizational dynamics.A competitive value commitment may be either trans-

formative or defensive in orientation [24]). In the hospitalcontext, physicians holding a transformative oriented com-petitive value commitment favour the newly dominantbusiness logic over the traditionally dominant medicallogic. This contrasts with the opposite situation of phy-sicians holding a defensively oriented competitive valuecommitment.

Figure 1 Neo-institutional dynamics model based on Greenwood and Hinings [15].

Koelewijn et al. Human Resources for Health 2014, 12:28 Page 2 of 12http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/12/1/28

The interplay of power dependence, interest dissatisfac-tion, and value commitments can result in ‘radical change’,which involves abandoning the current dominant logic ra-ther than fine-tuning it. In this study we define entrepre-neurship as a form of radical change by physicians (alsosee, Koelewijn et al., 2012) [24]. Hereby, entrepreneurshipis defined as ‘new entries by physicians and hospital man-agers who discover, evaluate, and exploit opportunities tocreate future health services by bearing the risk of profitand loss’ [25-27].Finally, in analyzing the nature of radical change

towards entrepreneurship, we distinguish between trans-formational and sedimented change [28]. Whereas trans-formational change entails the creation of an entirely newlogic, sedimentation suggests that elements from another,sometimes conflicting, logic may be added to the presentlogic. As a result, this type of change remains incompleteand reversible [29]. Examples of sedimented change areprovided by, for example, Kitchener [30], who appliedGreenwood and Hinings’ (1996) model in explaining theintroduction of a quasi-market in the UK. He concludedthat this did not lead to a transformational change in thelogics of its actors, but instead to a ‘co-existence of newstructures and systems’. This was supported by Addicottand Furlie [31] who concluded that in managed clinical net-works for cancer in London ‘a hybrid interpretive schemehas prevailed, whereby the characteristics of a range ofconflicting archetypes coexist’. By analyzing the type ofchange associated with physicians’ entrepreneurship, wesimultaneously contribute to the stream of literature onprofessionalism [32] in which professionalism is defined asa normative value system and ideology [33].

MethodsIn preparing our interview protocol, we made one adapta-tion to the original model of Greenwood and Hinings(1996) [23]. As both the dominant logic and the alternativelogic are well defined in our study (business-like health careand medical professionalism respectively), we focus on boththe physicians’ relative position with respect to the twologics and on defining their value commitment towards theother group. For this purpose, the description of the med-ical logic and business-like logic as developed by Reay andHinings [8] was used. Respondents were assigned to one ofthe two logics based on their responses to the questions,which contained statements referring to values of both themedical logic and the business logic. Respondents who em-braced values of both logics were assigned to the hybridlogic. The resulting research model is shown in Figure 1.We conducted a study among physicians and managers

in both hospitals and specialty clinics. We conducted semi-structured interviews with fifteen physicians and eight man-agers in four Dutch hospitals and twelve physicians andseven managers in twelve Dutch specialty clinics. In total,

we interviewed 27 physicians and 15 managers to deter-mine the intra-organizational dynamics, their contributionto the level of entrepreneurship, and if any resulting changewas transformational or sedimented.As indicated in Table 1, the four hospitals and twelve

specialty clinics ranged in size and specialty, thereby con-stituting a representative sample of hospitals and specialtyclinics in the Netherlands. Per hospital, we selected twophysicians from medical specialties and two from surgicalspecialties. Managers were selected for having a direct re-lation with at least two of the physicians included to allowfor a better understanding of the intra-organizational dy-namics. For specialty clinics, we focused on including phy-sicians from clinics of differences sized rather than fromdifferent specialties.In the interviews, respondents were first informed about

the aim and method of the study. In order to avoid sociallydesirable answers as much as possible, they were explicitlyasked to reflect on their actual experiences in their presentsituation in the hospital or specialty clinic. The interviewswere audiotaped and transcribed, and then anonymizedfor reasons of confidentiality.

Data analysisThe interviews were coded and analyzed with the help ofAtlas.ti 6.2. The code list was based the constructs in-cluded in our research model (Figure 1). New elementsthat were mentioned as influencing intra-organizationaldynamics, such as organizational size and personal charac-teristics, were also included in the code list.In order to prevent bias, a second coder reviewed the

recorded interviews as well. This resulted in a kappaof 0.73, showing relatively high inter-coder reliability.When differences arose, these were discussed; agreementwas reached on all items. We translated the quotationsincluded in this article from Dutch into English.Next, we will compare our findings in hospitals with our

findings in specialty clinics to determine whether entre-preneurship constitutes transformational or sedimentedchange, and we will present a refined model explainingphysicians’ entrepreneurship.

ResultsFirst, we will establish the nature of intra-organizationaldynamics in hospitals and in clinics. For this purpose,we will analyze the dynamics for each of the concepts inthe research model: power dependence, interest dissat-isfaction, value commitment, and entrepreneurship. Fi-nally, we also provide some additional findings withrespect to hospital entrepreneurship and elaborate onthe type of change associated with the entrepreneurialprocess.


Power dependenceWe found that all physicians reported experiencing powerdependencies and interest dissatisfaction with managementor colleagues. The perceived high level of bureaucracy andlack of influence on hospital policy is frequently mentionedas causing interest dissatisfaction with management. Withrespect to this perceived level of involvement in decision-making, we found differences depending on the size of thehospital in relation to the management style. For example,physicians working in the smallest hospital included in oursample mention the culture of facilitating physicians. In thethree other hospitals, the executive managers deal with mat-ters differently, using formal and sometimes bureaucraticdecision-making processes. In medium-sized hospital C, for-mal processes are perceived as dominating:

‘I’ll suggest something and nothing gets done with it,you’re one month further and you think, oh I neverheard anything more about that. That makes it evenmore of an uphill struggle.’ (Manager, hospital C)

In contrast, the management of the other medium-sized hospital B is more welcoming towards physicians’initiatives as the executive manager takes a very open,pragmatic approach towards entrepreneurial initiativesby physicians, resulting in a relatively high number ofinitiatives executed in partnership with the hospital:

‘As a rule, the medical specialists are moreentrepreneurial than the managers. Managers thinkmore in terms of limitations than physicians do. But ifthat’s your attitude (…) you’re literally not able tostart something until you have a project assignment.’(Executive, hospital B)

Finally, the executive manager of the largest hospital(hospital D) included in our sample created a parallel in-formal process next to the standard bureaucratic processto allow for more direct input by physicians:

‘Once every two years the entire Executive Board anddirectors and all the medical staff withdraw somewhereto brainstorm about a number of topics. That worksmuch better than all that paperwork and it generatesrenewed dynamism.’ (Executive, hospital D)

This parallel policy-making process helps physicians ful-fil their interests. As a result, physicians’ interest dissatis-faction is relatively low. In addition, in the Netherlandsmost physicians work in physicians’ partnerships within ahospital instead on an employment basis. In fact, most ofthese physicians regard an employment relationship withthe hospital as detrimental to their autonomy, causing ahigher level of power dependence compared to an inde-pendent relationship:

‘I’ve seen several employment relationships go bad inthe hospital because (…) the directors first said yes,but then no, we mustn’t do this after all. And thatleads to conflicts and in the end the director says,hang on a minute, I’m the boss here, remember?’(Physician, hospital D)

Summarizing, all physicians in hospitals experiencedpower dependence to some extent. Bureaucracy and a lackof perceived influence in the decision-making processes ofmanagement are highly influential factors. These factors inturn are dependent on hospital and partnership size andthe managerial style of the executive manager. Hereby,

Table 1 Specialties and size of clinics included in sample

Hospitals (beds) Clinics (number of physicians)

< 300 400 to 700 400 to 700 > 700 ≤ 10 > 10

Cardiology 1

Dermatology 1 2 1

Geriatrics 1

Gynecology 1 1

Internal medicine 1 1

Ophthalmology 1 1 1 1

Orthopedics 2 2

ENT 1

Pediatrics 1 1

Plastic surgery 1 1 1

Radiology 1

Surgery 1 1

Total 4 4 4 3 5 7


more openness by management and greater facilitation ofphysicians are seen as ways of diminishing physicians’ per-ceived power dependence. Finally, an employment relation-ship between physicians and a hospital is regarded ascausing greater power dependence.For specialty clinics, we found that physicians involved

in the entrepreneurial process and having a position in theclinic’s governance perceive the facilitation provided bymanagement as good. A general manager of a specialtyclinic explains his facilitation of physicians as follows:

‘We set up everything to make it as easy as possiblefor the physicians to do their job. Indeed, they’re theboss. In that sense they’re not being ordered around bya manager. So they have an awful lot of say in howthey can optimize their work and arrangements.’(Manager, clinic #3)

However, in clinics, organizational size also appears tobe positively related to power dependence as physiciansworking in larger clinics mention power dependence morefrequently. In contrast, respondents from smaller clinicsexperience more direct collaboration by being more cen-trally positioned within the organization. A manager ofthe largest clinic reports the downside of a large span ofcontrol:

‘People always complain a lot. And the complaints aremainly about how remote the directors are - not me,but the directors: people think they are too distant.’(Manager, clinic #2)

In addition to organizational size, the single focus inmost clinics on one specialty improved the perceived in-fluence on organizational decision-making. As a result,internal competition with other specialties is limited orabsent. This focused character contributes to a lowerperceived power dependence.Moreover, perceived power dependence is reduced by

the financial incentives provided by specialty clinics.These incentives are related to the overall performance,thereby fostering a shared interest among physicians andmanagers alike. As a physician explains:

‘We set up the clinic to give everyone a share in theprofits. That makes you slightly more motivated tomake sure things work out in your own outfit becauseit’s in your own interests.’ (Physician, clinic #4)

With regard to physicians who were not involved inthe entrepreneurial process of starting up the clinic andwho are not included in the clinic’s governance, our re-sults indicate that they still perceive high power depend-ence on management. In contrast, physicians who were

involved in the startup phase and who are part of the gov-ernance structure of the specialty clinic perceive them-selves to be more influential as well as seeing functionalinterdependence with - rather than dependence on - man-agement. This mutual interdependence is perceived as apositive and vital characteristic of their organization, as aphysician involved in the entrepreneurial process notes:Summarizing, specific organizational characteristics of

specialty clinics stimulate the development of shared inter-ests and collaboration. For example, small specialty clinicswithout much bureaucracy can be more flexible with re-gard to physicians’ interests due to a smaller span of con-trol for the clinics’ management and a decision-makingprocess that involves a single specialty. In addition, manyspecialty clinics offer shared financial incentives, therebyaligning the interests of physicians and managers. Finally,physicians who have been involved in the founding of theclinic and who have a position in the clinic’s governanceexperience low levels of power dependence. Both physi-cians and managers are aware of their interdependence,which produces a context where physicians are facilitatedin practicing their medical profession as autonomously aspossible.

Interest dissatisfactionWe found mixed results for the causes and extent of inter-est dissatisfaction among physicians. The causes of interestdissatisfaction with hospital management are often relatedto the perceived degree of red tape in decision-making.Some managers frankly acknowledge this:

‘I often still need to work on creating the basicorganization, so you don’t even get round toentrepreneurial activities, you’re too busy managing.’(Manager, hospital C)

A physician in hospital C explains his experiences withmanagement:

‘I’ve suggested a couple of really interestingopportunities to the hospital. But you never hearanything more about them. (…) I can’t understandfrom a rational viewpoint why a hospital doesn’t seizethose opportunities’ (Physician, hospital C)

Good facilitation by management, on the other hand,was found to limit interest dissatisfaction among physi-cians, as illustrated by one physician:

‘I would say the answer to the question why I don’tundertake entrepreneurial activities outside thehospital is that we basically have a good outpatientclinic and I’m satisfied with that.’(Physician, hospital A)


Besides hospital management, interest dissatisfactionmay also be caused by colleagues, depending on therelative power dependence experienced with regard toeither hospital management or other physicians. Asmost hospital-based physicians work in a partnershipwith other physicians, these partners are very import-ant. Difficulties in this relationship can easily lead toconflicts and may result in entrepreneurship by thedeparting physician, as explained by a physician whowas in the process of starting his own clinic after hav-ing left the hospital:

‘If there comes a point that it’s blindingly obvious theywant to get rid of you but don’t actually say so, (…)then I’m not inclined either to say well, I’ll just stayput. I can’t function if that kind of thing is going on.’(Physician hospital x)

Summarizing, we found mixed results on the causesand origins of interest dissatisfaction. Interest dissatis-faction of hospital-based physicians was related to thehospital’s bureaucracy and the resulting lack of oppor-tunity exploration. On the other hand, good facilitationdecreases interest dissatisfaction. Additionally, we alsofound an example of one physician with a high degreeof perceived power dependence with regard to his col-leagues. Due to the problematic relationship, this re-sulted in interest dissatisfaction with his fellow groupmembers rather than with management.In clinics, on the other hand, ten out of twelve physi-

cians said they were satisfied with the facilitation pro-vided by their management, as they were able to satisfytheir interests and practice their medical professionwhile safeguarding their medical autonomy. Especially,physicians who were involved in the founding and govern-ance of their specialty clinic reported being able to aligntheir clinic with their own interests. A general managerdescribes how physicians’ interests are facilitated:

‘The physician-entrepreneurs want short lines of com-munication, a focus on patients, a personal business,not too big, fast, no waiting, not being constantlyshunted from pillar to post, high-quality service (…).And the facilities for that are what we’ve essentially or-ganized.’ (Manager, clinic #4)

The interests of physicians and managers in clinics arefound to be highly aligned, thereby preventing interest dis-satisfaction and competing interests. Instead, shared inter-ests focus on achieving high patient satisfaction, and thebest possible care is realized through shared ownership orfinancial incentives to optimize the clinic’s overall per-formance. A general manager described the importance ofhaving shared interests:

‘In fact, you need to make sure the interests of thedoctors and the clinic are aligned. If the interestsaren’t aligned, they will inevitably end up in aconflict.’ (Manager, clinic #3)

It is noticeable, however, that as clinics grow, physiciansand managers report experiencing a similar divergence ofinterests to managers and physicians working in hospitals.One physician who worked on an employment basis for aspecialty clinic explains his difficult relationship with amanager:

‘There comes a point where the management tells you,the doctor, how you should be doing your (…) and thenyou gradually get into disagreements withmanagement.’ (Physician, clinic #7)

Summarizing, physicians who participate in thefounding and governance of the clinic are able to prac-tice their medical profession while satisfying most oftheir interests; they experience low levels of interestdissatisfaction. Physicians’ interests are aligned withclinics’ overall performance through shared ownershipor additional financial incentives. As clinics grow,however, the interests of managers and physicians startto diverge, thereby creating similar tensions as inhospitals.

Logics and value commitmentsPhysicians embedded in the business-like logic or hybridlogic (containing elements from both the medical and busi-ness logic) experienced interest dissatisfaction with fellowphysicians exhibiting prima donna behaviour rather thanwith hospital management. This results in a transformativeoriented competitive value commitment, aiming to changethe traditionally dominant logic of the own group. A phys-ician embedded in a hybrid logic illustrates this:

‘I try to communicate in their (managers’) languageand not retreat into my medical ivory tower (…). Atthe same time there are an awful lot of doctors withreally unreasonable demands. If someone like thatcries out, “Good gracious, I’m the doctor here, what onearth are you thinking of?”. If you do that just once,you’ve lost your commitment for the next five years.’(Physician, hospital A)

For physicians embedded in the medical logic however,interest dissatisfaction is related to their perceived highpower dependence on hospital management. Their deci-sion to engage in entrepreneurship is based on a defensiveoriented competitive value commitment aimed at uphold-ing values derived from medical professionalism. As onephysician states:


‘I didn’t want to have to say “no” to patients who neededa simple operation just because that operation didn’t fitin with the management’s ideas.’ (Physician, hospital B)

Summarizing for hospitals, being embedded in the med-ical logic is associated with interest dissatisfaction withhospital management, while being embedded in a hybridor business logic is associated with interest dissatisfactionwith fellow physicians.In clinics, we found a tendency for the development

and maintenance of a shared hybrid logic held by bothphysicians and managers as part of the entrepreneurialprocess. The basic premise of this hybrid logic entailsboth groups adopting elements of the logic traditionallyheld by the other group. As a physician describes it:

‘Just as managers need to learn to think a bit like a doctor- they need to be able to empathize with how doctors think- in the same way, doctors need to be able to empathizewith how managers think.’ (Physician, clinic #6)

One physician, who held a medical logic, did not partici-pate in the entrepreneurial process of starting up the clinicand was not involved in the clinic’s governance collidedwith the hybrid logic and eventually left the specialty clinic;

‘I had an office manager there. (…) I said: you need tofacilitate me. And at a certain point, it was somethingreally simple, I said that I wanted to arrange myconsultation hours like this. “Yes, but we don’t agree.”Sorry, but if so then we have a misunderstanding.’(Physician-manager, clinic #7)

In addition, the relatively small size of specialty clinicshelps in building and maintaining a shared hybrid logic ascommunication can be quick and direct, as explained by amanager:

‘We regularly discuss the set of instruments doctorsneed, agreeing on communication with patients andhow we should arrange procedures and protocols.’(Manager, clinic #5)

Finally, as the clinic expands, the business logic ofmanagement becomes more dominant at the expense ofthe hybrid logic, potentially giving rise to a defensivelyoriented competitive value commitment. A physicianembedded in the hybrid logic described his feelingsabout the growth of his clinic:

‘But you see that specialty clinics are getting bigger andbigger (…) and if they get big enough, you automaticallyget the same organizational problems in the specialtyclinics as in the hospitals.’ (Physician, clinic #4)

Likewise, the executive manager of hospital B com-ments on the dangers of the entrepreneurial entity be-coming more bureaucratic:

‘The management side has a tendency to make thingsmore bureaucratic, they add a layer of bureaucracy tothe opportunity and if you do that thoroughly then youinevitably find the opportunity has gone again.’(Executive Manager, hospital B)

Summarizing, at most of the specialty clinics in-cluded in our sample, physicians and managers are em-bedded in a shared hybrid logic. As physicians perceivetheir interests to be properly facilitated, their valuecommitment is directed towards maintaining this sta-tus quo. One physician who did not participate in theentrepreneurial process and the governance of theclinic collided with the dominant hybrid logic, therebydeveloping a defensive oriented competitive value com-mitment. Finally, we found that as clinics grow, so doesthe dominance of the business logic.

EntrepreneurshipBased on our research model, we found two ways inwhich intra-organizational dynamics in hospitals con-tribute to physicians’ entrepreneurship. First, physiciansembedded in the medical logic experience power de-pendencies and interest dissatisfaction with regard tomanagement, which induces them to leave the hospital.Second, physicians embedded in the business logic ex-perience power dependencies and interest dissatisfac-tion with regard to other physicians. However, we didnot find examples of physicians embedded in thebusiness-like health care logic whose decision to turninto an entrepreneur was induced solely by intra-organizational dynamics. Instead, we found other fac-tors influencing physicians’ entrepreneurship. Comingfrom an entrepreneurial family facilitates the transition,as explained by a plastic surgeon embedded in the busi-ness logic:

‘Ever since I was a child I’ve been brought up in anentrepreneurial environment (…). And then I startedthinking: well, we could do that here in this hospitalas well; set up our own business and deliver careprivately ourselves.’ (Physician, hospital B)

Another deciding factor for entrepreneurship is havingan entrepreneurial nature, as described by a physicianembedded in the business logic:

‘I turned from being a doctor into an entrepreneurbecause it’s in my blood (…) it was just a question ofacting according to your nature.’ (Physician, clinic #9)


And as perceived by an executive hospital manager:

‘Dissatisfaction and criticisms of the seniormanagement, the Executive Board, confidence issuesand all sorts of things - that can be one of the reasonsfor starting entrepreneurial activities. But you need tobe a genuine entrepreneur to actually be able to takethat step.’ (Manager, hospital B)

For physicians already working in entrepreneurial spe-cialty clinics, we only encountered one physician whotherefore experienced power dependencies and interestdissatisfaction with regard to management, inducing himto leave the specialty clinic to start his own business. Thisphysician was embedded in the medical logic and did notparticipate in the entrepreneurial process or in the clinic’sgovernance. We neither found evidence for high levels ofpower dependencies and interest dissatisfaction with theclinic’s management among physicians who did partake inthe entrepreneurial process and governance of the clinic,nor did we encounter similar phenomena with respect toother physicians. Still, growing bureaucratization is men-tioned as a potential danger to this stable situation as thismay induce growing dependence on the clinic’s manage-ment, therefore resulting in interest dissatisfaction.

Additional findings on hospitalsAn important factor influencing the form of physicians’entrepreneurship in hospitals is management’s basic atti-tude towards physicians’ entrepreneurship and manage-ment’s willingness to facilitate entrepreneurial initiatives(see Table 2). The management of three of the hospitals in-cluded in our sample only allows physicians’ entrepreneur-ship under certain conditions. Examples of these conditionsinclude the requirement that the new clinic be located at aminimum distance from the hospital, and shared owner-ship, often with a majority stake for the hospital. For physi-cians who are dissatisfied with the facilitation provided byhospital management, this stance provides additional ‘evi-dence’ reinforcing this dissatisfaction.The management of the fourth hospital included in our

sample was prompted by a perceived threat from a new

large-scale competitor in the neighborhood to create anentrepreneurial vehicle as part of the hospital’s holdingcompany structure. This vehicle was able to facilitate physi-cians attracted by the prospect of starting an entrepreneur-ial entity. As part of the arrangement, the hospital wouldhold a majority stake in every newly created entity.

‘If you see what the specialists do with this, it’s notthat much at hospital B. But what it has done is tosend a message to the staff that (…) we also give themthe freedom to be entrepreneurs. What you also see isthat some specialists are so entrepreneurial that theysay: I’m just going to start up my own businesses.’(Manager, hospital B)

Indeed, the facilitation provided for entrepreneurial ini-tiatives has been no panacea preventing physicians fromleaving this particular hospital, as one physician explains:

‘I wasn’t interested in fitting in with a hospitalhierarchy where ophthalmologists are somewhere nearthe bottom. It was time for something different, so Ichanged direction completely.’ (Physician, hospital B)

In sum, we found most management teams de factodiscourage physicians’ entrepreneurship by setting con-ditions. For physicians who are already dissatisfied, thisincreases their dissatisfaction with hospital management.In contrast, creating an entrepreneurial vehicle as part ofthe hospital may facilitate physicians in carrying outtheir initiatives. This, however, is no panacea preventingentrepreneurial physicians from leaving the hospital.

Resulting type of change in clinicsNext, to assess whether the change to entrepreneurshipwas transformational or sedimented, we analyzed intra-organizational dynamics in specialty clinics. We foundthat physicians and managers who jointly started a spe-cialty clinic developed a hybrid logic during the startupphase. This hybrid logic subsequently supports their col-laboration as it becomes the dominant logic once theclinic is operational. Interestingly, physicians who are notinvolved in either the startup or governance of the spe-cialty clinic still report high perceived power dependenceon, and interest dissatisfaction with, clinic management.Instead of adopting the dominant hybrid logic, these phy-sicians remain embedded in their traditional medical logic,thereby developing a defensive oriented competitive valuecommitment towards the hybrid logic. This finding sug-gests that involvement in the startup phase and govern-ance itself comprises a sedimentation process, allowingphysicians traditionally embedded in the logic of medicalprofessionalism to adopt elements of the business-likehealth care logic, thereby developing a hybrid logic shared

Table 2 Level of competition, managerial attitude andactual initiatives

Type Level ofcompetition

Managerialattitude towardsentrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship(intra/extra)

Small hospital Low Conditional 1/0

Medium hospital High Positive (vehicle) 5/1

Medium hospital High Conditional 1/2

Large Hospital Low Conditional 1/1


with management. The nature of intra-organizational dy-namics in both hospitals and specialty clinics is summa-rized in Table 3.We found two indications for the change being sedimen-

ted rather than transformational. As part of the medicallogic, physicians are supposed to be centrally positioned inthe organization allowing them to be both influential aswell as autonomous [17]. Being involved in the startupprocess and governance of the specialty clinic and subse-quently having direct influence on clinics’ policies not onlydiminishes the likelihood of interest dissatisfaction develop-ing but also fits well with the initial medical logic in whichmost entrepreneurial physicians were initially embedded.This is supported by a growing body of literature pointingto the added value of involving physicians in governance[19,34-39]. In sum, physicians’ satisfaction in specialtyclinics is not a result of a newly created logic resultingfrom transformational change, but rather the outcome ofa good fit with the medical logic in which the physicianwas formerly embedded and which prevailed during theentrepreneurial process.As noted by Pinnington and Morris [29], whereas trans-

formational change is permanent, sedimented change istemporary and can be reversed. We found this to be thecase with respect to the hybrid logic of small, focused spe-cialty clinics. As illustrated by Mintzberg [40] and more re-cently by Marquis and Lounsbury [41], small organizationstend to turn into bureaucracies as they grow, thereby pro-viding the conditions for an increasingly dominant businesslogic. As organizational growth requires more coordination,the business logic increasingly becomes dominant, therebyresembling the very organizations entrepreneurial physi-cians left in the first place. As a result, organizational mem-bers with a strong need for autonomy may leave thespecialty clinic [42].Finally, in specialty clinics physicians’ and managers’ in-

terests are aligned by providing incentives. Shared inter-ests have been shown to positively affect organizationalperformance and collaboration [20,37,38,43-46]. In fact,these incentives constitute additional cement to the sedi-ment in which entrepreneurial values are ‘glued’ onto thecentral medical logic of physicians. This glue may also

improve the fit between managers and physicians in othersettings, like hospitals.

DiscussionWe explored the nature of intra-organizational dynamicsbetween physicians and managers in both hospitals andspecialty clinics. In addition, we assessed whether thechange whereby a physician turns into an entrepreneuris largely transformational or sedimented.A perceived high level of bureaucracy and the associated

lack of opportunities for physicians to have a say on hospitalpolicy were found to cause both perceived power depend-ence and interest dissatisfaction. In addition to the focus byGreenwood and Hinings (1996) on intra-organizationaldynamics between functionally different groups leading toradical change, we also found evidence that intra-group dy-namics may result in radical change, thereby inducing physi-cians to turn into entrepreneurs.The initial embeddedness in a certain logic seems to de-

termine physicians’ value commitment and related primaryfocus of perceived power dependence and interest dissatis-faction. Physicians embedded in the traditional logic ofmedical professionalism perceive high levels of bureaucracyand related power dependence on, and interest dissatisfac-tion with hospital management, resulting in a defensivelyoriented competitive value commitment. Moreover, intra-organizational dynamics constitute the main incentive forchange, which takes the shape of entrepreneurship. Simul-taneously, management’s attitudes to these types of initia-tives by physicians influence how they will be implemented.If a hospital’s management explicitly discourages entrepre-neurial initiatives, physicians face no alternative than toexecute their entrepreneurial initiative outside the hospital,while if management is more facilitating, physicians willprefer to collaborate with the hospital organization in theform of intrapreneurship.As a result, we conclude that our research model holds

for physicians embedded in the logic of medical profes-sionalism thereby developing a defensively oriented com-petitive value commitment. This confirms earlier findingsof Marquis and Lounsbury [41], who found entrepreneur-ship to be stimulated by conflicting logics.

Table 3 Characteristics of intra-organizational dynamics in hospitals; based on interviews of 15 physicians and8 managers

Entrepreneurship

Hospital Beds Level ofcompetition

Perceivedinvolvement indecision-making

Powerdependence

on management

Interestdissatisfaction

with management

Management’sattitude towardsentrepreneurship

Intrapreneurial Extrapreneurial

A < 300 Low Medium Medium Low Negative 1 0

B 400 to 700 High Medium Medium Low Positive (Vehicle) 5 1

C 400 to 700 High Low High High Conditional 1 2

D > 700 Low Medium Medium Medium Negative 1 1


Yet, the physicians embedded in the dominant logic ofbusiness-like health care primarily reported interest dis-satisfaction because of prima donna behaviour of fellowphysicians embedded in the logic of medical profession-alism unwilling to adapt to hospital policies. Thereby, atransformative oriented competitive value commitmentis developed towards the traditionally dominant logic ofphysicians.Although we found that intra-organizational dynamics

encouraged entrepreneurship to take place, personal fac-tors, in particular in the form of an entrepreneurial na-ture or nurture, were mentioned as incentive necessaryconditions for the entrepreneurship of these physicians.Finally, our finding that entrepreneurship represents sedi-

mented rather than transformational change provides strik-ing evidence for hybridized professionalism. As part of thisconcept, professionals are linked to other groups holdingdifferent logics [47] calling for new boundary spanningknowledge and skills. Until now however, hybridization wasdefined as professionals learning new behaviour to fit newand hybrid organizational forms [48]. Our research how-ever indicates that in the process of resisting hybridization,new entrepreneurial entities can be found aimed to preventhybridization by instead upholding values derived from thelogic of medical professionalism. Surprisingly however, wefound evidence that the entrepreneurial process aimed toprevent hybridization, instead entails a hybridizationprocess by which elements of the ‘alien’ logic are adopted(Table 4).

Study limitations and suggestions for further researchAlthough this was a qualitative study exploring aspectsof intra-institutional dynamics, the responding selectionof physicians and managers may have biased our find-ings. Given our relatively limited sample, a large-scalequantitative follow-up study is needed to confirm ourqualitative findings. It remains unclear how the entre-preneurial process actually induces physicians to adopt

elements from the business logic and how managementis induced to adopt elements from the medical logic,thereby creating a hybrid logic. A follow-up longitudinalstudy should focus on this process of sedimentation andshed more clarity on the mechanisms involved. Finally,future research may extend our knowledge on thehybridization process itself including the mechanismsby which actors adopt new behaviours and skills.

ConclusionThe main theoretical contribution of our paper lies in theconceptualization of our findings into a theory of entre-preneurial change in the health care sector. We drew fromthe neo-institutional theory developed by Greenwood andHinings (1996), which assumed that organizations moveto a coherent logic with a consistent set of structures andsystems. Our analysis demonstrates that the hybrid entre-preneurial logic can be partially overlapping, consisting ofdifferent, and sometimes conflicting, layers from both themedical and business logic. As organizations grow, theselayers may shift, thereby providing the impetus for a newcycle of change.Rather than representing transformational change, our

findings show that physicians’ entrepreneurship demon-strates the existence of sedimented change in which a hy-brid logic held by both managers and physicians allows fora collaborative health framework in specialty clinics.Our findings have implications for policy-makers both

at the national level and the hospital level. At the nationallevel, budget cuts resulting from the enduring economicdownturn in Western countries have provided an impetusfor new and additional health care reforms relying heavilyon the logic of business-like health care. However in orderto be effective, the deep involvement of physicians, decen-tralized decision-making and common ground with stake-holders embedded in the medical logic is needed, allowingfor a hybrid logic to develop.

Table 4 Intra-organizational dynamics in specialty clinics as compared with hospitals

Hospital Specialty clinic

Physicians (n = 15) Physicians (n = 12)

Logic Medical (6) Hybrid (1) Medical (1) Hybrid (6)

Business (8) Business (5)

Participated in startup No Yes

In governance No Yes

Perceived power dependenciesa High Medium High Low

Prime subject of power dependencies Management Fellow physicians/Management Management -

Perceived interest dissatisfactiona High Medium High Low

Perceived value commitment Competitive; defensivetowards business

Competitive; transformativetowards medical

Competitive; defensivetowards business

Status quo

a‘Low’ when no example regarding perceived interest dissatisfaction or power dependencies is given, ‘medium’ when one or two examples are given, and ‘high’when more than two examples are given.


At the hospital level, policy-makers could learn from themechanisms employed in specialty clinics. For example,by closely aligning organizational entities with medicalspecialties, management can be more focused and direct,simultaneously allowing for the greater influence and in-volvement of physicians. In addition, we found shared in-centives for both management and physicians, based onboth quality indicators and financial indicators of theentity’s performance, to be useful in providing additionalcement to the sedimented hybrid logic.

Competing interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Authors’ contributionsWTK carried out the four case studies of the hospitals and five of thespecialty clinics and participated in the analysis of the results and drafting ofthe manuscript. MR conducted seven of the case studies of specialty clinicsand participated in both the analyses of the results and the drafting of thedocument. MLE helped to draft the final document. WHH participated in itsdesign and coordination and helped to draft the manuscript. All authorsread and approved the final manuscript.

Author details1Department of Health Technology and Services Research, School ofManagement and Governance, University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5,Enschede 7522, NB, The Netherlands. 2Netherlands Institute for KnowledgeIntensive Entrepreneurship (NIKOS), School of Management and Governance,University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede 7522, NB, The Netherlands.

Received: 18 October 2013 Accepted: 2 May 2014Published: 19 May 2014

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doi:10.1186/1478-4491-12-28Cite this article as: Koelewijn et al.: Physician’ entrepreneurshipexplained: a case study of intra-organizational dynamics in Dutch hospitalsand specialty clinics. Human Resources for Health 2014 12:28.

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Entrepreneurship withinsocial and health care

A question of identity, gender andprofessionalism

Anne KovalainenDepartment of Management, School of Economics,

University of Turku, Turku, Finland, and

Johanna Osterberg-HogstedtDepartment of Management and Organisation,Hanken School of Economics, Vaasa, Finland

Abstract

Purpose – This article aims to look first at how entrepreneurial identity fits into the picture wecurrently have of social and health care professionals who most often work in paid employment inthe public sector, and second, how entrepreneurial identity is constructed. We discuss whetherprofessional identity and entrepreneurial identity can be separated, and how meaningful that questionis. Is the role of entrepreneurship limited in the context of health and social care professional services,or can we see the emergence of a new kind of entrepreneurial identity with special features related tothe complexity within the provision of services in social and health care?

Design/methodology/approach – The materials from two previous studies by the authors are used inthe article as empirical data to investigate the questions of identity and professionalism. The methodologyis based on re-reading and re-interpretation of both empirical studies and theoretical literature.

Findings – There are differences and different logics of work-related identity building among theentrepreneurial groups and among professional groups. Despite this and even if part of the researchtradition emphasizes this difference and the separateness of these identities, we argue that identitiesare fluid, changing, layered and overlapping. As identities cannot be predetermined or classifiedaccording to economic earnings logic only, but that they are malleable, evolving, interconnected, andintertwined. In addition, the paper raises the contradiction of stereotypically “masculine”entrepreneurial goals and the stereotypically “female” ideology of care existing as tension withinentrepreneurship in social and health care.

Research limitations/implications – The research limitations relate to the research design of notusing ethnographical data.

Practical implications – The article has no direct practical implications. The results might haverelevance to education.

Social implications – The article has social implications in the ways the identities are discussedthrough various discourses in the societies.

Originality/value – The article has both originality in the settings and value in bringing differentdiscussions together, as well as in its ability to widen the theoretical discussions and empirical studieson identities, paid employment and entrepreneurship.

Keywords Small businesses, Entrepreneurialism, Small businesss entrepreneurship, Social care,Health care, Professions, Identity, Gender, Intersectionality, Frame analysis

Paper type Research paper

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-6266.htm

The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Academy of Finland, Minna CanthAcademy Professorship project funding.

Received 4 September 2011Revised 20 November 2011

1 March 2012Accepted 9 October 2012

International Journal of Gender andEntrepreneurshipVol. 5 No. 1, 2013

pp. 17-35q Emerald Group Publishing Limited

1756-6266DOI 10.1108/17566261311305193

Social andhealth care

17

IntroductionHow entrepreneurial identity is adopted and how it is constructed amongst femaleentrepreneurs in small businesses within social and health care in the Nordic context areboth intriguing and extremely relevant questions. Social and health careentrepreneurialism is a new economic form that relates to the marketization trend ofpublic sector services and the mosaic service structure. The marketization trend, alsoknown as New Public Management, began to emerge in the 1990s in the Nordic countries,and appeared somewhat earlier in other European countries, with key words such as“efficiency”, “effectiveness”, “accountability” and “user choice” (Wistow et al., 1996;Simonen and Kovalainen, 1998; Lewis, 2006). Managerialism in the public sector hasbecome the ideological force bringing about the transformation of public services, of whichentrepreneurialism is one element. In this article, we focus on the managerial public servicestate at the micro-level and investigate the construction of “entrepreneurial identity”among those who work as professionals and as entrepreneurs in health and social services.

In a mosaic-type of service structure, the State tends to remain the main purchaserof services, guaranteeing a just division, while the providers of services widen beyondthe State and municipalities, consisting of various contractors, ranging fromself-employed sole providers of services to multinational companies (Room, 2006;Lewis, 2010). Many service providers offer services to privately paying customerswithout State involvement. The largest part of this change is taking place in publicsector services, including health and social services (OECD Statistics, 2009).

The restructuring taking place at the national and international macro-level is aboutthe formal purchaser-provider split, and it includes a notion of simple reorganisation andrerouting of services from one provider (state or municipality) to several differentproviders (state,municipality, third sector organisations, self-employed,etc.) (Wistowetal.,1996; Room, 2006). This formal purchaser-provider structure includes several ongoing andeven contradictory processes, ranging from the political to the ideological, at the level ofthe structuring and practical organisation of services. At the grass-roots level, therestructuring on the macro-level becomes much more blurred, as there are severalproviders with different arrangements with the purchaser of the service (most often thestate or a municipality) and the “consumer” of the service (the customer)[1]. At themicro-level, the provision of care consists of a variety of arrangements with differentproviders, ranging from local authorities to companies and NGOs, to individualprofessional persons who own companies and who have decided to contract out theirservices as self-employed or as business owners, instead of working as employees.

In general, the changes concern the provision of services within social and healthcare from the 1990s onwards towards various types of quasi-market models whereservices are provided by the public sector, the third sector and private companies.Taking this bigger picture into account, we argue that the remodelling of the servicestate has changed the professions profoundly. How this is reflected in the identity workwithin the profession is a question we will analyse in this article. What does it mean tochange from paid employment to self-employment and entrepreneurship for a personwho is educated in a profession that relies heavily on public sector employment andwho has worked as a paid employee in the public sector? It is this professional person’sidentity work that is of interest to us. In this paper we are interested in how gender,professionalism and entrepreneurship interact in work identity constructions.

IJGE5,1

18

It is both theoretically and methodologically problematic that most of theentrepreneurial research analysing identity questions focuses on establishedentrepreneurs, and that study material is gathered from them (Navis and Glynn, 2011;Aldrich and Ruef, 2006; Lounsbury and Glynn, 2001; Anderson and Hughes, 2010). Oftenthe educational or occupational background issues are neglected in the formation of thecomplexity of the identity in question. This type of research does not cross the line intotrue interdisciplinary work by taking into account the prior professional or occupationalidentity embedded not only in educational processes but also in work practices inemployment, and the shift from paid employment to entrepreneurship. In that sense,earlier research is to a certain degree misleading in terms of the identity construction ofentrepreneurs, as it has neglected both the deeply ingrained identity work of educationand the equally important work experience in work identity construction.

This article offers a contribution to this field, and aim to fill the gap by discussingthe possibilities of an entrepreneurial identity and position in an occupational groupthat is overwhelmingly both historically and presently embedded in paid employmentpatterns and practices. The intersectionalities of gender, entrepreneurship and carework identities are discussed in relation to the public sector shifts.

Drawing on data from two studies – one nationwide survey and another focusingon interview materials – we demonstrate that identities are not stable or necessarilycategorizable, but more layered, making sense of the intersectionalities. The articleconcludes that while strong professionalism builds the core of the new entrepreneurship,there are several strong tensions concerning how to organise the maintenance ofprofessionalism, such as professional knowledge when working as a business owner orentrepreneur.

In the following sections, we will relate and discuss entrepreneurship andprofessionalism in gendered care work in health and social care context. Theintersectionality of gender, identity and positions in professions and occupations will bediscussed first, and this is followed by a discussion of the empirical findings from ourstudies.

Businesses providing care – the intersectionalities of gender, identity,business, occupation and professionContrasting entrepreneurialism and professionalismEntrepreneurialism is, as action and as rhetoric, related to individualism, freedom andboundary-less possibilities, where membership of a specific profession does not limitthe possibilities of what one can perform (Carree and Thurik, 2010). Entrepreneurialismis often assumed to be a simple solution to many kinds of problems in working life andthe economy, ranging from intrapreneurship to effectivization of public sectoractivities. Many of these notions of enhancing entrepreneurialism neglect issues ofmasculinization of businesses (Powell, 1994) and the complex interplay between gendersegregation that exists both in paid work and in entrepreneurship (Kovalainen, 1995).

Professionalism, on the other hand, relates to specific occupational skills obtainedthrough education and work experience. The boundaries for professions are drawn bymany, not least by the professions themselves (Witz, 1992; Nancarrow and Borthwick,2005). The notion of belonging to a larger group holding similar kinds of skills is one keyfeature of professions. Professionalism in its mundane everyday meaning refers to skillsand capabilities. In research, however, professions typically refer to concrete and


19

historically developed occupations, and aspects such as autonomy, power and skillsattached to and surrounding such occupations. More precisely, profession refers tosocial closure, including more attributes than simply an “occupation” (Witz, 1992) as amere technical skill. Social closure refers to a set of skills counted as part of theoccupation, and the possibilities to exclude others from the occupation on the basis thatthey lack certain characteristics or crucial skills. The characteristics or skills in questionare most often skills and competencies acquired through education and work experience.Professional occupations are often hierarchically structured in work organizations. Inaddition, they “rub against each other”, and they are often also measured against otherprofessional groups’ skills in occupational hierarchies (Ashcraft, 2007; Deem, 2003).

For very different reasons, neither entrepreneurialism nor strong professionalismhas been self-evident in health care occupations. Many of the occupations within healthcare and social care, such as nursing, have historically been considered as “naturally”feminine (Wrede, 2010; Sandall et al., 2009), and for that reason, not considered as realprofessions among other professions, such as doctors and lawyers. The struggle forrecognition as strong professions has taken a longer route for most occupationslabelled as female, especially in care-related occupations such as nursing, where carehas often equalled “naturalized” and gendered nurture (Anderson and Hughes, 2010),thus not worth being paid for.

Entrepreneurialism, on the other hand, has not been the most common route for anyoccupational group in health and social care services in any Western country.Overwhelmingly, most of those trained in health care service occupations are employedas paid employees in the public or in the private sector. This equally concerns employeesranging from managers to cleaners: employment in either a large corporate organisationor the public sector is the most usual route to work, to an occupation and to a profession.Being a salaried employee is the most common form of work in health care, most oftenbecause the work content is structured around relatively large units, such as hospitalsand health care units; the tendency to make care work more like team work hasstrengthened. The intersectionality between care and gender is visible at many levels:the identification of care work with female nurturing is reinforced with rather low salarylevels. The fact that women make up the majority of employees in care work and theoverwhelming employee positions in care work are both visible in the statistics, despitethe growth in studies on the significant number of self-employed workers engaged incare work (Brush et al., 2006; Budig 2006a, b; Hughes, 2003).

Gendering care work in the welfare contextThere are several reasons, partly outlined above, why the social and health care sector isan especially interesting field for both SME research and entrepreneurship research. Weconsider gender to be a pervasive element in terms of entrepreneurship (Eddleston andPowell, 2008; Hughes, 2003; Orhan and Scott, 2001; Sundin, 1997; Kovalainen, 1995;Sundin and Holmquist, 1989; Tillmar, 2004; Kovalainen and Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2008),and especially with regard to the kind of work where the majority of those in paidemployment and in entrepreneurship roles are women. One of the most neglectedexplanations offered in the research literature is that health care sector businesses aregoverned by many regulatory mechanisms that do not guard other kinds of businesses.Thus, we can claim that becoming an entrepreneur does not “free” the work activity itselffrom the boundaries that are embedded into it and regulated through legislation,

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irrespective of whether one is in paid employment or in self-employment. Thus, whetheror not it is a business, does not differentiate activities, as the regulatory practices are inplace for all: the ability to work as a nurse or a doctor requires a certified license.

Being a private provider of care has become an accepted, relevant and even lucrativeopportunity for making one’s living for professionals within the sector, where paidemployment is still the dominant form of employment. Here we make a distinctionbetween those in paid employment in the public sector, and those in self-employment orworking as business owners (entrepreneurs) in the public sector. The shift in employmentpatterns reflects the bigger picture of marketization within welfare states, where thechains of service production and sub-contracting models are related to the mosaic ofservice production (Kovalainen and Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2008), with the state supportingthe mosaic structure of social and health care services. By mosaic structure, we arereferring to the multi-producer model of organising care. In most countries, the stateprovides some kind of care services, usually basic forms (Lewis, 1998). Depending on thewelfare state regime, the domains of the state, markets and families vary. In the strongestform of the welfare state, that is the Nordic welfare state model, the state has provided forand paid for most of the care. Shifts to a mosaic structure mean that the state might be theentity purchasing the services, and the producers of care are diverse, ranging from thestate to private providers of care. The private providers of care are businesses, organisedand functioning as if in the markets; however, the markets are regulated and controlled bythe state. Therefore, they are most often called quasi-markets (Wistow et al., 1996).

In the global North, entrepreneurship within social and health care is growing,largely due to shifts in the roles and responsibilities between the state, municipalities,markets and families (Kovalainen, 1995; Folbre, 2006). This growth of new private careis not so evident in countries where the state has not played such a dominant rolein providing services, such as in the Nordic countries (Kovalainen, 2005a, b, c, 2004).The importance of the welfare state regimes – i.e. how the social services at large, arearranged in society, in what ways the division of responsibilities between the state,markets, NGOs and families take place – is often excluded from discussions on carebusinesses. A particularly interesting issue concerns what happens when social andhealth care sector professionals, embedded in strong professionalism in the publicsector, shift from the public sector to private providers of care and become entrepreneursand self-employed, and who now need to set a price for the care they provide[2].

Focusing on intersectionality in research requires an embedded analysis of thebusiness in context; and thus identity in context. Care seldom appears without notionsof dependency, state and services. Furthermore, a new kind of service structure, related tothe growth of consumerist ideology in health care (Heffernan, 2006), enables businessideas to grow in personal services, and many of these are in the health care domain.The change in the care landscape has provided possibilities for care businesses to grow.Both entrepreneurship and paid employment within the sector are strongly segregatedby gender, irrespective of the country in question; emerging businesses are mainly small,the business environment is heavily regulated, and the markets are partly related to thechanging role of the state, and dependencies of different kinds, etc. (Anderson andHughes, 2010). All these factors increase the novelty of the business environment, and bringin factors that are outside the more traditional fields of SME and entrepreneurship research.

Occupations in health care and social care are overwhelmingly gendered. The stronggender segregation of occupations, which typically assigns caring jobs to women and


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technical jobs to men, has been recognised as a major source of inequality worldwide.Within segregation, both vertical and horizontal segregation are gendered by nature.While some researchers perceive professionalism as a neutral phenomenon, writers fromvarious feminist traditions have pointed out that men have set the standards throughwhich work is defined (Davies, 1996; Witz, 1994). Professional roles, therefore, have gendervalue, and this is the case regardless of the biological gender of individuals.

Gender as a social category (Scott, 1986) that is renewed and renegotiated in socialrelations and social situation refers tochanging perceptions. Gender can also be an exampleof difference (Felski, 1997), but this difference is not stable or symmetrical, but negotiableand changing. Doing gender refers to the ways the notion of gender is reproduced inparticular settings. The universal notions of work as well as entrepreneurship are gendered.We do not assume that gender would consist of a homogenous group of women or menwhen talking about women’s or men’s work or female/male-dominated sectors, nor do wesupport the kind of essentialism, where the variety of attributes are described in biologicalsex, but we do take gender more into account theoretically as a gender construct andsystem whereby both genders are integrated, and definitions are embedded in theprevailing culture and society. Analysis across the categories of gender, entrepreneurshipand paid work articulates the complexities in relation to profession and care work andraises new questions about the gendered nature of these businesses.

Care itself is an essentially contested concept since its constituent features are – andhave been – the subject of lively debate over time (Tronto, 1993, 2011; Hochchild, 2001;Beasley and Bacchi, 2007). Discussing the explicit forms the work takes is not just asimple question of the shift in form (i.e. paid/unpaid) but also of the content that isregulated. We do not, however, question the forms and ways of doing care work, ratherwe accept these as given. Differing constructions of care, such as informal, hidden orunpaid forms, as in the case of migrant care workers, do not enter the world of theentrepreneur in the formal, regulated quasi-markets of welfare societies. The identitiesof these welfare workers are often left untouched in research.

Identity as a theoretical frameworkThe professions within social and health care have not only changed alongside changesin service provision and the birth of markets but have also reflected changes that havetaken place in education within those fields. The identity of “professional” fields hasbeen recognised as a field in its own right (Kerfoot, 2003). Entrepreneurial education hasmade its way into the health care professionals’ educational curriculum, along withcaring and other related disciplinary knowledge, such as nursing. Entrepreneurship inthis field is often built on strong professionalism, work identity and work ethics, withmost entrepreneurs being former employees within the same field of work (Kovalainenand Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2011). It is, therefore, relevant to ask whether they have simplychanged their earnings logic, while all other issues, such as professional identity, haveremained the same.

The concept of identity (Hall, 1999; Williams, 2000), the construction of identity (Bergerand Luckmann, 1995/1966) and the construction of identity within entrepreneurship haveall attracted considerable attention over the last decade (Cohen and Musson, 2000; Downand Warren, 2008; Gustavsson and Ronnqvist, 2006; Hytti, 2003; Lindgren and Wahlin,2001; Nadin, 2007; Sundin, 2004, 2006; Vesala et al., 2007; Warren, 2004). The gap we

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highlighted earlier, the shift between employment positions and the possible changes inentrepreneurial identities and professional identities will be analysed in the next section.

When considering work-related identities, we do not assume that identity can beextracted from survey questionnaires or from interviews with individuals in any directway (Goffman, 1959, 1963). Direct extracts from individuals’ words do not necessarilytell us about the authenticity of those words in relation to identity. Analysing issuesand questions that relate to work preferences, exploring satisfaction with one’s presentposition, determining whether the position is entrepreneurial or paid employment,as expressed in the data give us an understanding of the strategies individuals haveadopted in work. The open-ended questions in surveys and interviews can reflect theways in which identities are performed and played out.

The term “entrepreneur” is used when discussing the different elements of identity,even if the term “small business manager” or “self-employed person” might be moreaccurate in certain cases. Entrepreneur is chosen even if all entrepreneurial activity withinthe field is not innovative or entrepreneurial in the sense that is often understood whenusing the term. For example, Wickham’s definition of an entrepreneur (Wickham, 2001,p. 44) which is based on various sources, is of a person who wants to create new value, seesan opportunity, gathers resources in order to pursue that opportunity, and builds up anorganisation to manage those resources, is useful for the purposes of defining entrepreneurwithin social and health care. In its most basic form, the entrepreneur is not in a paidemployment relationship but works at her/his own risk, employs others, etc. Thedefinition of entrepreneur has often been, with some justification, criticised as being overlymasculine and one-dimensional (Kovalainen, 1995).

Rather than use a normative definition of entrepreneur, we argue that the concept needsto be understood through several contextual issues. In the specific case of social and healthcare, the strong state model for organising care and the existing legislative regulations arecrucial to understanding the different dimensions of entrepreneurship, such as identityformation. The control power of officials is high in relation to the quality and nature of caregiven in private enterprises. The regulatory framework for private institutions concernsthe possibilities of the purchaser of the care and health services, most often municipalities,to govern the quality (Wistow et al., 1996). It is therefore, unnecessary to think of identityas a stable, one-dimensional or solipsistic concept, as so often framed in the literature. Oneexample of such framing is the definition given by Navis and Glynn (2011), who defineentrepreneurial identity as “the constellation of claims around the founders, organization,and market opportunity of an entrepreneurial entity that gives meaning to questions of‘who we are’ and ‘what we do’”[3]. Of the existing definitions, this is the most commodifiedand outsider view of entrepreneurial identity.

When discussing the results of the analysis, the term “professional identity” is usedeven if the term “occupational identity” might, at times, be a more accurate one. Despite thefact that all occupations within social and health care cannot be characterised asprofessions we have still chosen to use the term professional identity when talking aboutidentity that is constructed through and with the help of the occupational status thatis built on occupational skills and occupational and vocational education. The well-knownand established concepts of profession and professionalism are not discussed in this paperdue to space limitations[4]. The idea of profession, suggests, in addition to capabilities,a clear image of the possible work tasks, qualifications and competencies related to theoccupation.


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Materials, methods and analysisSet within the theoretical intersectional context briefly described above, our studydraws on data from open survey questions gathered in 2005, and especially onqualitative interviews carried out in 1996 and in 1998-1999 with nine self-employedwomen as well as entrepreneurs within social and health care and services acrossFinland. Looking at small business entrepreneurship within this sector through surveyand interview material, we explore how entrepreneurial identity is constructed.The large volume of empirical material helps us to integrate the concepts of identity,profession and gender into the picture. The data provides us with further insights intothe ways in which business and one’s own company in the field of care can be used as asite for identity performance[5]. The fact that most businesses in the social and healthcare sector are very small in size (Statistics, 2010), not only in Finland but also in otherNordic countries, also places the discussion within the frameworks of small businessresearch and the changing economy and welfare state.

A nationwide weighted survey was conducted in order to find out more aboutsmall- and medium-sized entrepreneurship within social and health care. All thecompanies that were not multinational or directly owned by a larger company orlisted large companies were included in the sample as representative of SMEs withinthe field. Through the survey a total of 276 questionnaires from entrepreneurs withinsocial and health care were collected, with an effective response rate of 42 percent.Of those who responded, 70 percent were entrepreneurs within the social sector and30 percent were health care sector entrepreneurs. The majority of respondents werefemale (77 percent). The open-ended questions ranged from very short answers tolonger ones.

In addition, interviews conducted in 1996 and 1998-1999 with entrepreneurs wereanalysed through close reading. The interviews were semi-structured, and theinterviewees could speak freely about different themes. It can be justifiably questionedwhether “data” on identities can actually be gathered and whether such data can begathered through surveys, suggesting perhaps that only ethnographically orientedinterviews should be used. The idea of “measuring” or “revealing” identity throughasking questions about it directly, or through observing it in action, is naive, and thus,we have done neither. Nor do we aim to talk about the results in a categorical orgeneralizable way vis a vis the empirical data in question. Rather, we have adopted theidea that some proximity exists between the ways we have described the work and itsimportance in life, the capabilities an individual possesses, as well as the abilities towork her/his way through these work tasks. These can reflect identity and may beinterpreted as identity performances, given the use of time, plans and ideas of futuretime use and preferences along the different available activities. Consequently, criticalreading and theoretical interpretation are the methods used in the analysis, and closereading is used in the interpretation of the empirical results[6].

The remainder of the article considers the findings of the study with respect to twointerrelated themes. First, it explores the construction of identity in entrepreneurshipwithin social and health care, through contradictions and cliches, and second it considershow experience and skills work their way through professional and entrepreneurialidentities.

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The construction of identity in entrepreneurship within social andhealth careContradictions and clichesIn the early days of entrepreneurship within the social and health care sector in the Nordiccountries, around the time of the economic recession in the 1990s, when entrepreneurshipbecame a career possibility for those working within the field (Kovalainen et al., 1996;Osterberg, 2002, 2003a, b, 2006) and later on when entrepreneurship within the field hadreceived a more established position as a complement to the public sector (Kovalainen andOsterberg, 2006), entrepreneurs did not represent themselves or talk about themselves asentrepreneurs. Many of the entrepreneurs in the “early days” were indeed seen asexceptions to the norm (Kovalainen and Osterberg, 2000). The lack of supportingstructures became visible in a study where entrepreneurs were asked to explain the sourceof their business start-up advice. The taxation office was most often identified as the bestsource of information when setting up a business in the 1990s (Kovalainen et al., 1996), asthe sector was not regarded as growing. Not seeing oneself as an entrepreneur first andforemost but viewing oneself more through the role of a professional has been found also inother research on entrepreneurship (Tillmar, 2004; Gustavsson and Ronnqvist, 2006;Warren, 2004; Cohen and Musson, 2000)[7].

Despite the fact that respondents did not identify themselves as entrepreneurs in thetraditional sense, the entrepreneurs we studied did discuss their work in entrepreneurialterms. When analysing how entrepreneurs in the early days of entrepreneurshipwithin this sector talked about their work, we can identify two different discourses asways of addressing the work and its meaning to oneself: one is the “happy entrepreneur”and the other is the “distressed entrepreneur” (Osterberg, 2003a, b, 2006, 2007;Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009):

Entrepreneurship suits a person who likes to develop their own work and make plans andtake responsibility, and can also delegate work and think from the employees’ perspective(Entrepreneur 5, female, free translation).

[E]very now and then it is very quiet and then when it comes it almost becomes too much.To maintain limits, not to take on too much, but also to have enough work – balancing isdifficult (Entrepreneur 6, female, free translation).

The ideas expressed revolved around issues of being free, in charge of one’s own work,and being enthusiastic, but also issues of heavy workload, time management, problemsand financial questions. The entrepreneurs in our survey (2005), when entrepreneurshipwithin this field had gained a more established position, were asked about thoseaspects they perceived as positive or negative features of being an entrepreneur. Theanalysis of the answers provides us with a picture of entrepreneurial identificationand its scope and limitations. The respondents did not seem to regret becomingentrepreneurs and saw the freedom of working for themselves and the challenges of thework as positive factors. Other positive factors were, for example, the ability to decideone’s own working hours, the available flexibility around the work and ability to decideon the contents of the work in contrast to earlier, paid employment conditions.In addition, self-realisation and the possibility for personal development were mentionedas positive factors. The negative aspects were those typically found in entrepreneurialactivities and business-related matters, including heavy workload, the degree ofresponsibility and insecurity over continuation and contracts. Some mentioned that


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being constantly involved with work was a negative factor, and others referred tofinancial issues or having little time off from work as negative factors, and not partof their own identities. The negative aspects were related to those parts of work thatdid not directly deal with professional capabilities and abilities, but more withcontextual matters.

The comments about entrepreneurship within social and health care in terms of “beingfree” and “I am in charge of my own work” or comments about “the problems of everydayentrepreneurship” could also be seen as reflecting some of the commonly held cliches ofentrepreneurship (Down and Warren, 2008) as work intensive but autonomous. Forexample, Down and Warren show that the use of entrepreneurial cliches makes it easier tobuild an entrepreneurial identity when the attachment is not so strong and also when theentrepreneurial identity might have to be abandoned if changes in the working contextoccur. According to our results, for entrepreneurs within social and health care, theentrepreneurial identity – if that can be understood as separate and detached fromprofessional identity – is not strong and they stress their professionalism as being theircore identity, even when “doing business”. The business clearly enables them do to thingsthat were important, but their professional identity was not dependent on the business.Building up one’s own entrepreneurial identity through the use of cliches aboutentrepreneurship might be a way of adjusting to the new situation of being anentrepreneur in one’s occupation in the reality of the everyday work to be done, far fromthe glamorous image of the risk-taking hero entrepreneur. When focusing on individualworkers’ and entrepreneurs’ identities, a strong emphasis on individuals’ ethos,“capabilities” and “self-fulfilment” discourses can easily hide other, more collective,critical or context bound interpretations, such as in foucauldian inspired studies onentrepreneurial identities (Miller and Rose, 2008).

According to Johannison (2005), one of the paradoxes of entrepreneurship is that itmeans both dependence and independence. This is especially true, in a different sense, inentrepreneurship in social and health care services, where the questions of vulnerabilityand dependency are related to the specific care activity in question (Kovalainen, 2004).Being an entrepreneur within social and health care also means that you offer yourservices in the same arena as the public sector and municipal authorities are most oftenthe customers purchasing your services. This duality in cooperation practices createsinteresting patterns, and places contract-making abilities, negotiation skills and theconcept of trust at the centre of the activities (Kovalainen and Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2008).On the basis of our empirical material, the entrepreneurial side of activities comes to thefore in the everyday work of running a business (Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009) andentrepreneurial skills need to be mastered in order to manage the business. One of thecontradictions of entrepreneurship within social and health care is the strain betweenentrepreneurial activities and risk-taking compared to the soft values and ethics of care(Nadin, 2007; Sundin, 1997; Tillmar, 2004; Tillmar, 2009). In order to avoid thecontradiction of “masculine” entrepreneurial goals and the “female” ideology of care,there is a need to construct an identity that can combine these two in a morallyacceptable way.

Experience and skills“Adopting” the identity of an entrepreneur can fulfil different purposes. For example,Hytti (2005) sees it as a possible way of keeping one’s professional status, and Sundin

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(2004) talks about entrepreneurship as a way of keeping the situation stable and notchanging the way one works or the content of work. In particular, when one becomesan entrepreneur within the previous occupational field, the entrepreneurial identity isbuilt on the professional identity (Gustavsson and Ronnqvist, 2006; Osterberg-Hogstedt,2009). The crucial role of work experience has also been seen in other studies onentrepreneurs (Akola et al., 2007; Gustavsson and Ronnqvist, 2006; Mattila, 2005;Tillmar, 2004). Our interpretation – based on our empirical material – is that theentrepreneur within social and health care first and foremost provides services in aflexible and professional way, and the business is based on their professional skills.Their professional identity is constructed out of their education and work experience.The role of entrepreneurship is to provide the framework for practising one’s occupation,and entrepreneurial identity is seen in terms of the way in which one chooses to practiseone’s occupation (Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009).

If the entrepreneur sees herself/himself as lacking entrepreneurial skills and knowledge,it might affect or slow down the process of identifying oneself as an entrepreneur(Vesala et al., 2007; Cranford et al., 2005; Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009). When asked about thekinds of skills they felt they would need more of in the future, the entrepreneurs in oursurvey listed, in addition to constantly updating occupational skills and mastering severalother skills, the need for entrepreneurial skills and skills for managing the business. Suchskills included marketing, finance, leadership, HR, knowledge of legal issues and IT skills.All this reveals the layered notion of business-related activities that need to be mastered“on top of” the profession. Within social and health care, becoming an entrepreneur oftenmeans changing one’s occupational status from being employed within the same sector tobecoming an entrepreneur, very often with the same employer, with only the contractchanging (Kovalainen and Osterberg, 2006; Sundin, 2006). This, of course, challenges theidentity of the work itself. According to our results, entrepreneurial identity can be seen asdeveloping when experience in running a business grows (Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009).According to our interpretation, the ability to articulate and reflect the lacking skills relatesto entrepreneurial identity more than to professional identity.

In entrepreneurship within social and health care, professional identity is combinedwith the ideology of care (Tillmar, 2009), and the different roles in a woman’s life(Nadin, 2007), which are very often taken for granted, thus creating a gender imagebased on essentialist assumptions of biology, rather than social definitions. Problems forfemale entrepreneurs that can be connected to gender include, for example, difficulties ingaining trust and credibility, and also insecurity in entrepreneurial skills (Kovalainen,1995; Tillmar, 2004). When entrepreneurs within this field gain more experience ofrunning a business, and when they succeed in establishing their position alongsidepublic sector services, the entrepreneurial identity grows (Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009),but it does not have to grow at the expense of the ideology of care or the gender position.The challenge and the attraction of being an entrepreneur in the social and health caresector are found in combining care, female roles and entrepreneurship.

When it comes to entrepreneurship within social and health care, we are indeedanalysing a very heterogeneous group of entrepreneurs with a wide range of professionalstatuses. Within some professions there are long traditions of becoming an entrepreneur,and there are examples to follow in the entrepreneurial process, but within otheroccupations there are no traditions or patterns for entrepreneurial activity(Osterberg-Hogstedt, 2009). Shepherd and Haynie (2009) address the psychological need


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to belong and the sense of distinctiveness as crucial elements of the identity managementof the entrepreneur. One of their conclusions is that achieving a balance between thefeeling of distinctiveness and the feeling of belonging through managing differentmicro-identities leads to psychological well-being for the entrepreneur. In line with theirconclusions, we can assume that achieving a balance between the micro-identities of beingan entrepreneur, a professional within social and health care and a female could lead to asense of balance between belonging and being distinctive.

Taking the gendered nature of professions into consideration, we can also assumethat when the gendered nature of the work comes into play, the balance is disrupted.In strong professions within social and health care, professional identity provides thesense of belonging and being an entrepreneur would provide the sense of distinctiveness.On the other hand, in weaker professions and also among the different professionsin the heterogeneous field of social and health care, the entrepreneurial identity mightprovide the sense of belonging. This is understood through our empirical material,where those in strong professions (physicians, medical doctors, lawyers) find the coreof their capacity existing and remaining the same despite the form of work contract theyhave (self-employment, paid employment, contracting work, entrepreneurship). Thereis a stronger need to emphasise the business idea and package one’s own capabilitiesinto a marketable format for semi-professions, such as nursing or other care relatedoccupations, than for strong professions such as lawyers and dentists. This articulateddistinction was not, however, very strong, but it was present. It is this distinction thatraises new questions relating to the layers of identity work and the boundaries betweenknowledge claims. It seems that when being an entrepreneur, the expenses and costs aremore or less constantly calculated. It is as if efficiency is produced through one’sown labour, thus seeping into the mindset and thought processes, transforming theprofessional identity gradually with an overlapping entrepreneurial identity.

ConclusionThrough the ability to combine contradictions that occur in their everydaylife experiences, and with the help of cliches, entrepreneurs within social and healthcare try to construct their own kind of entrepreneurial identity on their differentpaths towards entrepreneurship; an identity that retains professional skills andexperience at the forefront, and an identity that succeeds in combining being femalewith entrepreneurship and the ideology of care. The transition of defining care as acomplete profession instead of defining it as a woman’s “naturalized” labour of love,as a professional work status and part of the social tapestry of societies through welfareoccupations (Witz, 1994; Bubeck, 1995) has taken decades. However, the professionswithin welfare, health and care are very much gendered in terms of who is doingthe work, who is supposed to do it, and how it relates to and results from segregatedoccupational structures. In so far as these gender roles in care are socially constructed,they are fluid and open to change. The blurring boundaries and diversities intersectingwith other features, such as the position of the public sector, negotiation power andthe ability to perform become mediated through “business talk” and articulationsthat relate more to the entrepreneurial activities than to waged work.

According to our interpretation, the entrepreneurial activities in entrepreneurshipwithin social and health care are built on and intersect with previous and perhapsdeeper layers of professional skills, and are thus based on and built upon strong

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professional identity. The entrepreneurial identity comes to the fore in the everydaywork of running a business, and in talking about the business. Often in the interviewsthe everyday language of the business precedes and bypasses the professionalism,which is not articulated separately, but is illustrated through actions and activities,through work and its practices. Second, this does not mean that professionalism hasbeen eroded from the work activities and practices of an entrepreneur. The ability torun the business rests firmly upon professional capability and identity, and thatprofessionalism also forms the “core” of the business. In talking about and reflecting onthe business activities, the talk about the care or specialist field within health care andsocial care are not underlined or explicated. The contradiction between the tworemains, but it is layered and subtle.

In order to avoid the contradiction of stereotypically “masculine” entrepreneurialgoals and the stereotypically “female” ideology of care, there is a need to construct anidentity that combines both in socially acceptable ways. The challenge and the attractionof entrepreneurship in the social and health care sector may lie in the combination ofcare, female roles and entrepreneurship. What entrepreneurs in this field do, first andforemost, is provide services in a flexible and professional way, and the business isbased on their professional skills, while entrepreneurship provides the framework forpractising one’s occupation. Therefore, “running the business” seems to be the activityframework for the “work to be done”, which is primarily displayed and performed asstrictly professionalism-based care. It seems as if the “core” of the professionalismidentity has not changed, even if the ways of making a living have, bringing forward the“entrepreneurial identity”. Gender has become immersed as part of this framework.Through a delicate balancing act between these different micro-identities of being aprofessional within social and health care, being female and being an entrepreneur,we see a unique form of entrepreneurial identity in social and health care evolving.

The current development of the changing welfare service system towards amarket-based and mosaic-type structure, in all Nordic countries, has provided anopportunity to track down an emerging new business field within the strong professionalgroups who had earlier experienced, and had access to, only paid employment positions.This historical transformation also opens up the possibility to address the question ofevolving entrepreneurial identity in a wider sense, as the question touches severalprofessional groups, it changes the gender order in care arrangements, and, finally, it alsochanges care giving. This can also mean deconstructing the prevailing entrepreneurialidentity stereotypes. During the last few years an increasing number of professionalgroups have settled into the possibility of the entrepreneurial option in their workingcareers, the education system for care professionals has integrated the idea ofentrepreneurship into its curriculum, and services are presently mixed in productionmodes. The transformation of the welfare services has been rapid, and entrepreneurshiphas become the “business as usual” amongst those professions which were untouched byit in the 1990s, when we started to research the phenomena of marketization of publiclyprovided social care and health services, as well as private businesses within these fields.

There are undoubtedly differences and different logics of work-related identitybuilding among both entrepreneurial and professional groups. Despite this, and even ifpart of the research tradition emphasises the difference and the separateness of theseidentities, we argue that very often these identities are fluid, changing and overlapping.This only tells us that identity cannot be predetermined or classified according to


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economic earnings logic only, but that identity is malleable, evolving, interconnectedand intertwined with several features that seep through – for example, family andeducational background, professional and work experiences – and they do not amountto these only.

Notes

1. The New Public Management has introduced a shift in the language of care from “client” to“service user” and “consumer” (Heffernan, 2006), referring to able-bodied citizens capable ofmaking informed choices ( Jacques, 1996).

2. We do not make a rigid division between entrepreneurs and self-employed persons here, asthe line is fluid, especially so among professionals. Part of them contract out their services –or simply their own labour – on a private basis, and most of their services are purchased bya municipality. For that purpose, they need to start up their own business, set prices for allservices, participate in tenders, negotiate with the purchaser and clients, etc. Is thatself-employment or entrepreneurship? For this reason, we do not separate here the term“self-employment” from “entrepreneurship”, even if there are well-documented reasons fordoing so in most of the studies on the topic (Kovalainen, 1995).

3. This is also true, to some extent, within the female and women’s entrepreneurship literature.

4. For a thorough discussion, see, for example, Evetts (2006) and Svensson (2006).

5. The ways to personalise services through the variety of identity performances can be bothabout who or what one’s business is not about, as they are about what it is.

6. In a similar fashion, the question of the timing of data gathering can be posed. We do notassume the “freshness” of the data being the issue here, as the identity construction seems tobe more interlinked to personal work experiences in paid employment and in business,irrespective of the actual year of data collection.

7. The deeply ingrained division into growth companies and stable non-growers is apparent inthe ways growth companies are being discussed and framed in research.

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Further reading

Crenshaw, K. (1991), “Mapping the margins”, Stanford Law Review, Vol. 43 No. 6, pp. 1241-99.

Evetts, J. (2011), “A new professionalism? Challenges and opportunities”, Current Sociology,Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 406-22.

Goffman, E. (1974), Frame Analysis, Harper and Row, New York, NY.

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Phoenix, A. (2006), “Editorial”, European Journal of Women’s Studies, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 187-92.

Stakes (2007), Yksityinen palveluntuotanto sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollossa 2004, Suomen virallinentilasto, Sosiaaliturva, Yliopistopaino, Helsinki.

About the authorsAnne Kovalainen is an Academy Professor, nominated by the Academy of Finland, at theUniversity of Turku, School of Economics, Finland. Anne Kovalainen is the correspondingauthor and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Johanna Osterberg-Hogstedt is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Management andOrganisation, Hanken School of Economics, Finland.


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“Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University

Knowledge Horizons - Economics Volume 6, No. 2, pp. 49–53

P-ISSN: 2069-0932, E-ISSN: 2066-1061

© 2014 Pro Universitaria

www.orizonturi.ucdc.ro

SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES AS THE DRIVING FORCE OF

ROMANIAN ECONOMIC GROWTH

Alina Ligia DUMITRESCU Institute for World Economy of the Romanian Academy, Department of Governance of European Integration, Romania, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract The article focuses on enhancing the role of SMEs in Romania as a growth factor. It examines the role of SMEs especially in increasing value added and labor productivity in EU. The paper pays special attention to the principles underlying the Small Business Act and to the importance of entrepreneurship development as a source of new jobs. In conclusion, the number one priority in Romania is to facilitate the finance access for SMEs. Without SMEs access to adequate funding and no liquidity, no business can operate, invest and grow. This means ensuring financial market stability and strengthening banks, while ensuring that credit policy is focused on stimulating SME development. Another top priority for the development of SMEs sector in Romania is to increase innovation and youth entrepreneurship. Last, but not the least the top priority for developing SMEs as driving force of Romania economic growth is to promote SMEs internationalization.

Key words: Small and Medium

Enterprises, Entrepreneurship,

Value Added, Productivity, Internationalization

JEL Codes: L25, L26,M2,M13

1. Introduction

According to European Commissions, the small and medium-sized businesses are comparatively more prevalent in Romania compared to EU as a whole. According to the Small Business Act (SBA) Fact Sheets-2012 Romania, which is produced as part of the SME Performance Review (SPR), Romania's SME sector is characterized by a greater importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, to the detriment of micro-firms. In 2012, the medium-sized enterprises in particular reveal above-average contributions to employment 21.1% and value added 20.6%. Overall, the SME sector contributes less to value added and equally to employment when compared to its European counterparts on average, which suggests that the labour productivity of SMEs in Romania is lower. European Commission underlines that this may be the partly due to the industrial structure of the Romanian economy. In terms of sector distribution, the trade sector dominates, accounting for 42% of SMEs, as compared with only 30% in the EU. The remaining SMEs are distributed among services (34%), manufacturing (10%) and construction (13%). In Romania, there is as an important potential of economic growth and economic recovery by increasing value added and productivity of SME on one side and changing the distribution of the economic sectors in favour of increasing industry share. The key sectors for restoring competitiveness of the European firms are the

high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive sectors. Furthermore, on 18 March 2014, the European Commission has released a memo on SMEs: feedback on Green Action Plan, underlining the importance of the significant role of small and medium size enterprises in industrial renaissance, in order to increase the contribution European industry makes to EU GDP from the current level of 15% to that of 20% by 2020.

2. The Role of SME in European Union Economic Recovery

SMEs acted as a driving force for the EU economy, during the 2008-2009 crises, given that corporations/ large companies were more affected. While the European economy is still struggling to overcome the financial and economic crisis, European SMEs make significant efforts on their way to recovery based on their ability to restructure more easily to the market needs and their mobility to adapt more quickly to the challenges of globalization. Considering the definition of SMEs in the EU, they represent the vast majority of companies doing business in the EU. The final annual report entitled "A recovery on the horizon?", funded by the European Commission, shows that SMEs accounted over €3.4 trillion value added at current prices against a total value added produced by the private, non-financial sectors of approximately €5.9 trillion. A considerable contribution of European SMEs in 2012 was to the services and manufacturing sectors.

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Both sectors combined employed 74 million people and produced €2.9 trillion of value added, with 85% of all European SMEs working in these two sectors. It is underlined that of the estimated 5.1 million enterprises operating in manufacturing and construction, 99.6 % are SMEs. The utilities (including electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning, water supply, sewerage, waste management and decontamination) and extractive

industry sector accounted for a total of 149,000 enterprises, of which, 98.8 % are SMEs. The total of 20.35 million of the European SME plays an important role in increasing employment. SMEs represent 66.5% of total employment in Europe in 2012. SMEs have produced 57.6% of gross value added generated by the private economy, non -financial EU during 2012.

Source: Author based on European Commission data

Figure 1. European Union: Value Added and Employment in 2012

The importance of the industrial manufacturing sector for employment and growth in the EU is highlighted in the recent industrial policy strategy, and especially in the strategy “Europe 2020” which aims a competitive and innovative industry able to withstand global challenges. The recent publications of the European Commission, namely the “European Competitiveness Report 2013”and "Industrial Performance Scoreboard 2013" emphasizes the importance of industrial manufacturing sectors the EU economy and highlights how to stimulate innovation, promote the products with high value added and the international trade, in order to ensure sustainable growth and prosperity. In this strategy, mainly SMEs from the manufacturing sector are vested with significant powers both in stimulating growth and creating jobs. The EU total budget for the period 2014-2020 sums up 1082 billion euro, of which 32% represents the EU Cohesion Policy funding, which is the main financial instrument of the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund. The Cohesion Policy for 2014-2020 will focus on funding a smaller number of the strategy “Europe 2020” priorities and on increasing

the competitiveness of SMEs as a part of these priorities. For example, two of the top priorities are improving energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy use by SMEs. Thematic objectives include additional technology for research and innovation, information, communication and education, skills and lifelong learning, all of which are relevant to the policies for SME development and are strongly oriented towards entrepreneurship.

3. Small Business Act and Entrepreneurship

The Commission Communication COM (2008) 394 entitled "Small Business Act for Europe" has launched 10 guiding principles for the implementation of the policies to stimulate economic activity of SMEs, both at EU and Member States. These principles are essential to produce more value added, to stimulate a fair competition for SMEs and not least to improve the legal and administrative framework across the EU, namely: a) Create an environment in which entrepreneurs and family businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is stimulated;


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b) Supporting honest entrepreneurs that have faced bankruptcy to get a second chance to re-launch the business. According with European Commission data, approximately 50% of new SMEs fail in the first five years. In order the entrepreneurs in the EU to be able to produce economic growth, they must allocate more assistance from state. Further, companies do not have an adequate support system, enabling them to prevent bankruptcy. c) Design strategies according to the "Think Small First" principle d) Government determination to react promptly to the needs of SMEs; e) Adapt public policy tools to SME needs: facilitate SMEs' participation in public procurement and better use of the state aid to SMEs; f) Facilitating SMEs' access to finance and develop legal and business support payments on time in all commercial transactions; g) Supporting SMEs to benefit more opportunities offered by the Single Market; h) Promote the upgrading of skills in SMEs and all forms of innovation; j) Enable SMEs to turn environmental challenges into business opportunities; k) Encourage and support SMEs to benefit from the growth of markets outside the EU. In the Commission Communication COM (2012) 795, entitled "Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of economic growth and job creation" shows that entrepreneurship is a powerful tool, which leads to the creation of new businesses, opens new markets and stimulates the development of new skills and capacities. In the industry sectors, entrepreneurship is particularly important for the rapid development of several sectors identified as growth promoters in the Commission Communication COM (2012) 582 on industrial policy, namely: "clean" advanced manufacturing technology, key enabling technologies, organic products, sustainable industrial production, construction and raw materials, clean vehicles and smart grids. Entrepreneurship makes economies more competitive and innovative and is a key factor in achieving the objectives of EU economic policies. Paul Rübig (2014) shows that politics does not create jobs, but business entrepreneurship makes this possible. From his point of view, an efficient public policy requires an economic, fiscal and logistical environment where entrepreneurship can flourish. In Rübig’s (2014) opinion, the objectives for the future policy development of SMEs should focus on improving access to finance and to the markets within the EU and globally and promoting entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture. Because of the fact that SMEs in the EU are diverse and heterogeneous, the initiatives to improve access to finance must include diverse and

innovative measures, taking into account the specific features of each category of SMEs. (Rubig2014) The European Commission stresses that new enterprises, especially SMEs, are the most important source of new jobs: they create 4 million new jobs every year in the EU. While three years ago, 45% of Europeans were registered as freelancers (self-employment) employment, in 2012 this percentage dropped to 37% in the EU. On the other hand, compared with the United States the rate is greater 51%, and respectively China 56%. Moreover, when new businesses are founded, they grow more slowly in the EU than in the U.S. or developing countries. So, there is a potential for employment in SMEs, which may reduce substantially unemployment in the EU. According with Eurostat data, the euro area (EA18) seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 12.0% in January 2014 and in the EU-28 unemployment rate was 10.8%. EU support for SMEs is available in different forms such as grants, loans and, in some cases, guarantees. Support can be provided either directly or through programs managed at national or regional level, the European Union's Structural Funds. Also, SMEs can benefit from a range of non-financial assistance measures in the form of programs and support services for businesses. According with the “Community Support Programs for SMEs presentation of the main funding opportunities for European SMEs”, there are the following opportunities: 1. Thematic funding opportunities. This type of financing has specific thematic objectives - environment, research, education - designed and implemented by various departments of the European Commission. Typically, SMEs or other organizations can apply directly in these programs, on presentation of sustainable, transnational and value added. Depending on the program, applicants can also include industrial groups, associations of enterprises, business support providers and/or consultants. 2. Structural Funds Structural funds and the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund Community funding instruments are the largest funds dedicated to SMEs through various thematic programs and initiatives implemented at the regional level. Beneficiaries of structural funds receive a direct contribution to finance their projects. 3. Financial Instruments. Most financial instruments are available indirectly through financial intermediaries. Many of them are managed by the European Investment Fund. 4. Support for the internationalization of SMEs. Generally consist of assistance to intermediary organizations and/or public authorities in the field of internationalization, which aims to support SMEs in their quest to penetrate markets outside the EU.


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Daniel Calleja (2014) points out that the current priority for the EU is to promote the internationalization of SMEs to boost the existing potential for growth in markets outside the EU. In his point of view, this strategic approach is based on the estimate that by 2030, about 60% of world growth will occur in emerging economies. In currently only 13 % of SMEs do business across EU borders, but in the opinion of Calleja (2014) there is potential to increase the number of these SMEs to 36%. In order to give more chance to enterprises to do business, the European Commission launched a successful program called "Missions for Growth". The "Missions for Growth” is underway in seventeen different countries, namely: the Americas (United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay), Asia (China, Myanmar-Burma, Vietnam and Thailand), and North Africa and the Middle East (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Israel) and the Russian Federation. There are more than 800 participants in the project, representing more than 570 companies and business associations from 26 member states, representing both large enterprises and SMEs. All sectors of the economy are represented in these “missions for growth”, especially construction, transport and real estate (10%), oil, gas and renewable energy sources (7%), medical devices and pharmaceutical products (6%), key enabling technologies (5%) and tourism (8%). In 2014, several „mission growth" outside the EU are planned to create new business opportunities for SMEs in the EU and help them become more competitive both on the EU and internationally.

4. Conclusions

In conclusion, the number one priority in Romania is to facilitate financing access for SMEs. Without access to adequate funding and no liquidity, no business can operate, invest and grow really; finance is one of the levers of growth for SMEs. According to a public consultation launched by the European Commission in July 2012, limiting access to finance has been one of the major constraints on the growth and the development of entrepreneurship in the EU. SMEs were based on bank lending and therefore existing bank credit constraints due to the global financial crisis have a disproportionate impact on the development of SMEs. Especially, entrepreneurs have difficulties in obtaining financing in the early stages of their business. The European Commission has repeatedly stressed that SMEs can be a source of growth and jobs in the EU if their access to finance is improved. In short, from the perspective of Member States this means ensuring financial market stability and strengthening banks, while ensuring that credit policy is focused on stimulating SMEs development.

In the "Strategy for SME development", the Romanian Government underlines that early stage/startup funding is problematic for most entrepreneurs due to lack of business networks with regional or national coverage, lack of venture capital instruments (early stage venture capital funds) and flexible hybrid financing instruments (mezzanine credit) for small amount (up to 200,000 euro). Another top priority for the development of SMEs sector in Romania is to increase innovation and youth entrepreneurship. Providing loan schemes specific to young people, such as preferential loans, micro loans or providing guarantees are recommended to replace traditional lending schemes. According to experts the International Labor Organization, granting of loans with low interest rates and/or do not require collateral for young entrepreneurs, that can demonstrate commitment, responsibility and ability to repay the loan through an effective business plan. Also, loan guarantee schemes are an effective way to facilitate young people's access to bank financing, while the government assumes the risk of lending to young entrepreneurs. Small businesses are often launched with personal savings or family resources, but may be promoted by the authorities by reducing administrative and regulatory costs related to young people to help implement business, which often promote innovation and value added. Entrepreneurial skills are also essential for young people looking for jobs and want to start their own business. Providing practical entrepreneurial experiences for young people can strengthen links between the education system and the real economy to turn creative ideas of many young people in entrepreneurial actions. The European Commission encourages Member States to modernize education systems in order to eliminate the lack of competences and to improve the supply of skills required in the labor market such as digital skills, information technology and the entrepreneurial skills. The last, but not the least top priority for developing SMEs as driving force of Romania economic growth is to promote SMEs internationalization. Therefore, Romanian SME shave to increase competitiveness of their products on the international market by increasing productivity and the value added of their products and promoting high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive sectors.

References

1. European Commission (2008). Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions " Think


Volume 6, No. 2, pp. 49–53, © 2014 Pro Universitaria

53

Small First " a " Small Business Act " for Europe, COM (2008 ) 394 final , Brussels. 2. European Commission (2011). An Action Plan to Improve Access to Finance for SMEs, COM (2011) 870 Final, Brussels. 3. European Commission (2012). Community Support Programs for SMEs presentation of the main funding opportunities for European SMEs, Brussels. 4. European Commission (2013). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Entrepreneurship Action Plan in 2020 , reigniting the Entrepreneurial spirit in Europe, COM (2012 ) 795 final Brussels. 5. Calleja, D. (2014). Promoting Internationalization of European SMEs: Two Years of Missions for Growth, in Ulman, Laurent ( Edit) , Industrial strategy in Europe , Competitiveness and Growth, The European Files / Les Dossiers Européens, Brussels, www.europeanfiles.com, ISSN 1636-6085. 6. Gagliardi, D., Muller, P., Glossop, E., Caliandro, C., Michael Fritsch, M., Brtkova, G., Bohn, N.U., Klitou, D., Avigdor, G., Marzocchi, C., Ramlogan, R. (2013). The final annual report on SMEs 2012-2013 entitled "A recovery on the horizon?”. European Commission. Brussels. 7. RübiIg, P. (2014). „What Kind of European Policy for SME’s”, in Ulman, Laurent ( Edit) , Industrial strategy in Europe , Competitiveness and Growth, The European Files/ Les Dossiers Européens, Brussels, www.europeanfiles.com, ISSN 1636-6085. 8. Romanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business Environment, General Department of Industrial Policy and Business Environment (2009). "Government Strategy for SME development", Bucharest.

Fostering Entrepreneurship in a Changing Business Environment AE

Vol. 17 • No. 38 • February 2015 195

THE ROLE OF SMEs IN ASSESSING THE CONTRIBUTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO GDP

IN THE ROMANIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Dan Armeanu1, Nicolae Istudor2 and Leonard Lache3 1)2)3)Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Please cite this article as: Armeanu, D., Istudor, N. and Lache, L., 2015. The Role of SMEs in Assessing the Contribution of Entrepreneurship to GDP in the Romanian Business Environment. Amfiteatru Economic, 17(38), pp. 195-211 Abstract Given the negative effects of the economic crisis on the Romanian economy, entrepreneurship represents one of the main pillars of economic recovery and the authorities need to act in support of private entrepreneurship initiative. Even though entrepreneurship does not equate to the small and medium-sized enterprises, there is strong support in literature regarding the importance of SMEs in national economies due to the authorities' potential of intervention and their contribution to gross value added. The fluctuating evolution of the Romanian business environment has led to a high volatility of its contribution to GDP, which is especially true in the case of SMEs due to their lack of technology and capital and difficult access to financing, as well as limited know-how compared to the large companies that control the Romanian market. Successful entrepreneurial initiative leads to sustainable businesses and ensures a smooth transition from business ideas to the creation of value added, thus supporting economic growth and the narrowing of macroeconomic gaps which have been generated during the economic recession. As a distinctive and dynamic component of Romanian entrepreneurship, the SME segment has a significant contribution to GDP. This study aims at assessing the contribution of entrepreneurship, through its SME segment, to Romania's GDP in the main economic sectors and, at the same time, the estimation of output gap at sectoral level, thus filling a gap in entrepreneurship-related domestic literature. Keywords: entrepreneurship, business environment, small and medium-sized enterprises, real GDP, potential GDP, output gap, production function JEL Classification: L26 Corresponding author, Dan Armeanu –– [email protected]

AE The Role of SMEs in Assessing the Contribution of Entrepreneurship to GDP in the Romanian Business Environment

Amfiteatru Economic 196

Introduction

Entrepreneurship initiative represents a cornerstone of market economy and its support by public authorities is a fundamental prerequisite of long-term economic welfare. Such supportive measures are ever more important in the context of an economy in transition to a fully-fledged market-based system. This is the case of Romania, where the slow and unconvincing progress has been a chief result of the lack of a stable, attractive and competitive business environment. Public policy has obviously lacked a structured and coherent approach to sustaining the local entrepreneurship environment, which in turn has affected subsequent economic growth. Since multinational corporations dominate the Romanian economic landscape, with limited potential for stimulative public intervention (i.e., tax benefits), significant attention must be paid to the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. In many economic sectors, SMEs are the main job creators, as well as the main contributors to GDP. Authorities have an array of tools available to support SMEs, such as tax and administrative facilities, counselling and assistance in EU funds absorption, support towards human capital development etc.

The connection between entrepreneurship and SMEs in the Romanian business environment is well documented in literature – see, among others, Lafuente and Driga (2008, 2009), Lafuente and Rabetino (2007), Marchiş (2011) and Ciucan-Rusu and Szabo (2013). The authors demonstrate that entrepreneurial initiative in the Romanian economy has been relatively weak at creating value added and at orientation towards the customer and that deficiencies in human resources, financing and the institutional framework have not allowed SMEs to fully unlock their growth potential, thus limiting their contribution to GDP. The specificity of the institutional framework, the lack of management culture and entrepreneurial education*, as well as the inherent shortcomings of the local business environment (difficult access to financing for smaller companies, the high number of bankruptcies and the lack of fiscal transparency) have far outweighed the traditional advantages of SMEs – the potential to generate value added, the adaptability to ever changing markets, the rapid adoption of new technology and ability to produce managerial innovation. All of these aspects have obviously affected the contribution of SMEs to GDP.

Given that domestic literature on the topic of entrepreneurship (and its SME sub-segment) is mainly focused on descriptive analysis and its qualitative dimension†, the objective of this study is to assess the capacity of entrepreneurship and SMEs to innovate and to generate value added. The proposed approach shall be based on the Cobb-Douglas production function with constant returns to scale and statistical filtering techniques and it shall estimate all of the model's inputs (capital, labour and labour elasticity of output) by specific techniques, using statistical data available for the Romanian economy over the 2000-2013 period. The model shall also be used to evaluate the output gap of the SME segment, as well as to determine the contribution of labour, capital and total factor productivity to economic growth in Romania's top six value added-generating sectors.

The paper is structured as follows: the ensuing section is dedicated to a review of the main results of entrepreneurship- and SME-related literature, both in Romania and internationally. Next, the research methodology shall be described – the production function model, estimating input variables, applying the model and assessing its suitability given the peculiarities of the Romanian economy. The two following sections shall discuss model results and draw the necessary conclusions.

* See Lafuente and Rabetino (2007). † See Lafuente and Driga (2007, 2009).


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Review of the scientific literature

Small and medium-sized enterprises, and more generally entrepreneurship, are widely considered to be a fundamental engine of economic development at global level. However, due to the institutional and market inefficiencies they face, public intervention is necessary in order to sustain growth in the SME sector (Pîslaru and Modreanu, 2012). According to The World Bank (1994, 2002, 2004) and Beck and Demirgüç-Kunt (2004), pro-SME policies are based on three main pillars: first and foremost, stimulating competition and entrepreneurship and thus promoting economic efficiency, innovation and the effective use of resources. Secondly, SMEs are widely believed to have the best potential of job creation, as large corporations are comparatively less reliant on labour. Thirdly, some authors (see, for instance, Ardic, Mylenko and Saltane, 2011; Cressy and Tovainen, 2001; Dietrich, 2010) consider SMEs to be more productive than large firms; however, their progress is slowed down by limited access to financing and several institutional barriers.

As pointed out by Beck and Demirgüç-Kunt (2004, 2006), in spite of the growing interest towards fostering SME development at international level that has resulted in several multi-billion dollar financial assistance programmes provided by The World Bank and EBRD, among others, pro-SME policies are subject to heavy criticism by authors who argue their efficiency. Some studies (Pagano and Schivardi, 2001) argue that large corporations enjoy significant competitive advantage that enables them to benefit from important scale economies, which in turn allows them to make significant investment in R&D that ultimately leads to increased productivity, as well as an improved ability to respond to the challenges of a continuously evolving international business environment (Maksimovic and Phillips, 2002). Other studies (Haltiwanger, Jarmin and Miranda, 2010) indicate that, in the medium term, SMEs are neither better job creators than large companies, nor are they more reliant on labor than large corporations.

An interesting view is that of Ayyagari, Demirgüç-Kunt and Maksimovic (2011) and Beck and Demirgüç-Kunt (2006), who question the relationship between firm size and firm contribution to economic growth. As it turns out, this relationship is heavily influenced by factors as natural resource endowment, the direction and efficiency of economic policy, the degree of openness exhibited by the economy, the competitiveness of domestic products in international markets etc.. For example, economies that are relying on the export of products that incorporate substantial value added favour large corporations, as opposed to less open economies, and pro-SME policies can generate distortions at microeconomic level (Beck and Demirgüç-Kunt, 2004). However, it is worth noting that many studies question the higher presumed efficiency and productivity of SMEs compared to large corporations, as well as the contribution of SMEs to economic growth. As discussed in Beck and Demirgüç-Kunt (2004), this requires significant effort towards a business environment with few barriers to entry and exit, an efficient institutional framework and a transparent and predictable legal system and public policy that fosters private economic initiative and stimulates competition.

The issues of SME efficiency and SME contribution to economic growth are ever more complicated in the case of emerging economies, where the lack of appropriate management culture, bureaucracy and institutional deficiencies discourage both entrepreneurial initiative and the internationalization of SMEs, thus directly affecting their development (Volchek, 2013).

Regarding entrepreneurship in Romania, Ciucan-Rusu and Szabo (2013) identify an additional issue of the business environment and SMEs: the translation of already performed activities in the public sector into the SME segment, thus leading to a



"nomenclature business" type of entrepreneurship, dominated by a large number of businesses with only one employee and with zero ability to innovate and create value for the client. The same study underlines the weak involvement of education in acknowledging the importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture, idea backed by Lafuente and Rabetino (2007). Other studies (Lafuente and Driga, 2007; 2009, Marchiş, 2011, Pîslaru and Modreanu, 2012) contain descriptive analyses of entrepreneurship and SMEs and statistical information pertaining to SMEs, without attempting a quantitative assessment of the contribution of SMEs to GDP or a modelling of the sectoral output of SMEs and the related output gap. Such an endeavour is necessary as it permits correlations and simultaneous interpretations with similar analysis performed by the National Bank of Romanian and the European Commission at a macro level, thus providing policy makers with a valuable instrument.

Research methodology

The output model based on the Cobb-Douglas production function assumes the following equation of output:

1KLAY (1),

where Y is potential GDP, L is potential labour input (the level of full employment), K is the potential capital stock, when labour input is at its potential level and α is the output elasticity of labour.

As discussed in Konuki (2008), if salaries reflect the marginal productivity of labour, α shall be equal to the ratio of total labour earnings to gross domestic product. A formal derivation of this parameter in the particular case of the Romanian economy is discussed in the following sections.

Estimating potential GDP on the basis of a production function approach involves the identification of potential levels of labour and capital, total factor productivity and the output elasticity of labour, α. The main advantage of this methodology is that it is backed by economic theory, while at the same time providing useful information about the drivers of equilibrium output, which is out of reach for purely statistical methods. However, as highlighted in Denis, Grenouilleau, McMorrow and Roger (2006), the robustness and the reliability of this approach is only as good as its inputs. As we shall see shortly, estimating potential levels of labour and capital poses a significant challenge in the case of volatile economies.

In order to assess the labour trend, the following equation shall be used:

TNAIRUNL 1 (2),

where L is the equilibrium level of labour (used for purposes of estimating potential

GDP), N is active population (15-64 years old), is the trend labour participation rate and the equilibrium unemployment rate (NAIRU) shall be determined based on the following equation (Ut is the actual unemployment rate):

Cttt UNAIRUU (3),

in which CtU is cyclical unemployment (driven by the current state of the economy). T is

the trend average number of hours worked weekly in the economy.


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As regards the estimation of the parameters, some clarification needs to be made. For purposes of estimating NAIRU, two approaches can be used: on the one hand, dynamic models that explicitly incorporate macroeconomic drivers of NAIRU (such as inflation; see Altăr, Necula and Bobeică, 2010, Kuttner, 1994 and Denis, Grenouilleau, McMorrow and Roger, 2006 for a thorough discussion); on the other hand, statistical techniques for trend extraction can be used, the most popular being the Hodrick-Prescott and Kalman filters.

In this paper we shall use the approach proposed by Ozbek and Ozlale (2005), with NAIRU being modelled using a random walk with drift model:

NAIRUtttt zAIRUNNAIRU 1 (4),

where the drift zt itself follows a random walk process:

Estimating the cyclical component of unemployment poses some methodological challenges, as discussed in Altăr, Necula and Bobeică (2010). Due to the frequent structural breaks in time series pertaining to the Romanian economy and the resulting high volatility of macroeconomic variables and high sensitivity to phases of the economic cycle, we find that a legitimate choice for the cyclical component of unemployment is a AR(2) model with time-varying coefficients:

CUt

Ctt

Ctt

Ct UUU 2211 (5),

with the associated stationarity condition 121 tt .

Based on these equations of movement, we quarterly NAIRU shall be estimated using an extended Kalman filter applied to the seasonally adjusted time series. The trend labour

participation rate and average time worked T , shall be estimated by means of a standard Hodrick-Prescott filter instead of a consensus approach as suggested by Altăr, Necula and Bobeică (2010), which propose the simultaneous use of the HP and Kalman filters. This choice is motivated by the fact that the time series have exhibited not significant volatility over the relevant time frame, but a smooth evolution, which makes the HP filter an appropriate choice.

The estimation of the labour input at sectoral level is done based on the same reasoning as in (2), accounting for the proportion of SME employees in the total number of employees at economic sector level, as follows:

TNAIRUwN

NNL IMMS

EC

SS 1_ (6),

where: SL is the labour trend at sectoral level (only SME), SN is the labour trend in the

economic sector S, estimated using a Hodrick-Prescott filter, ECN is the labour trend at the

whole economy level, also estimated using a HP filter, and IMMSw _ equals the weight of

employees in the economic sector S attributable to SMEs.

The output elasticity of labour α can be estimated using a variety of approaches, almost all based on some ratio of labour derived earnings to gross value added created in the economy (please see Guerriero, 2012, for a detailed analysis of the alternative approaches to



determining the parameter). Estimates for the Romanian economy range from 0,65 (Altăr, Necula and Bobeică, 2010), to 0,68 (European Commission, using an estimation horizon between 1990 and 2006) and 0,69-0,70 (Guerriero, 2012).

For purposes of this study, the following formula shall be used to estimate α, both at economy level and at sectoral level:

GVA

MIC (7),

in which C is the employee compensation, consisting of salaries and other assimilated income, MI equals mixed income, representing the proportion of gross operating surplus charged to entrepreneurial compensation and GVA is gross value added. Estimating α at sectoral level poses some challenges, as mixed income is not available at economic sector level. This is why we will make the assumption that mixed income is distributed at sectoral level directly proportional to the gross value added created in the respective sectors, as follows:

S

EC

SECS

S GVA

GVA

GVAMIC

(8),

Inherent in our approach is the assumption that the output elasticity of labour α is the same for both the economy as a whole and for the SME segment of the economy.

The next important step in calibrating the production function is estimating the capital stock, which is not directly observable. A possible approach is proposed by Konuki (2008) and Altăr, Necula and Bobeică (2010), based on the permanent inventory method. According to this model, the capital stock at tine t is given by:

ttQtt GFCFdKK ,11 1 (9),

where Kt is total capital at time t, dQ is the quarterly rate of depreciation of capital, with the link between the annual and quarterly rates of depreciation being given by

4/111 Aq dd , and GFCFt – 1, t is the gross fixed capital formation (capital inflows)

during period t.

The application of the permanent inventory method can be done in two ways. One of them is to assume that the growth rate of capital is equal to the rate of growth of real GDP. In this case, the real capital stock at the end of year n is determined as follows (see Gălăţescu, Rădulescu and Copaciu, 2007):

AA

nn dr

GFCFK

(10),

where rA is the annual rate of growth of capital formation. This approach has one significant drawback, which is the need to reliably estimate the annual growth rate of capital inflows, with different assumptions yielding different results, as discussed in Konuki (2008). The other approach starts with a predetermined level of the initial capital-to-output ratio and subsequently estimates the capital stock using the recursive relationship (9).


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In their study, Altăr, Necula and Bobeică (2010) start with a capital-to-output ratio equal to 2,0 in 1995; however, this is not consistent with the IMF country report of 2003 which proposes a capital-to-output ratio of 1,3 in 1992. Considering the capital obsolescence in the Romanian economy in the first years of transition to a market economy system (implying high depreciation rates), we consider that a capital-to-output ratio of 2.17 in 2000 is appropriate, which corresponds to a capital-to-gross value added ratio of 2,44 in the same year. This value has been estimated using equation (9), considering an average annual growth rate of real GDP of 3.59% and annual depreciation rate of capital of 5% over the 2000-2013 horizon. The annual depreciation rate is consistent with the studies of Altăr, Necula and Bobeică (2010) and Gălăţescu, Rădulescu and Copaciu (2007).

In order to evaluate the capital stock in the SME segment of the economy at sectoral level, we shall start from the capital-to-gross value added ratio determined for year 2000, as follows:

SEC

SSMEGVAKSSME GVA

GVAwGVAK

,

,2000,,20002000,, (11),

The estimation of capital stock for subsequent periods is done based on the assumption that the capital stock of SMEs will grow at a quarterly rate equal to the growth rate of the total capital stock in the economy. For purposes of modelling potential GDP, there are solid arguments (Denis, Grenouilleau, McMorrow and Roger, 2006), Konuki, 2008, IMF, 2003 and 2012 etc.) regarding the use of the actual capital stock in the economy as a proxy for

the trend stock of capital ( TT KK ).

The last step in model calibration is estimating total factor productivity (TFP). In this respect, implied TFP shall be first determined using actual real GDP and trend labour and capital determined using the methodology previously described:

1KL

YAimplied (12),

where L and K represent actual inputs of capital and labour. For the trend input of labour, formula (6) will be used, replacing trend values of variables with the actual quarterly observations, while trend capital is given by (17). Once the series of implied TFP has been derived, a Hodrick-Prescott filter shall be applied in order to estimate trend TFP.

In our opinion, the model's strength lies in the simultaneous identification of factor and productivity contributions to sectoral, SME-produced GDP, as well as output gap at sectoral level. As it shall be seen, the model's results allow for a better understanding of Romania's macroeconomic gaps (the overheating of the economy in 2004-2008 and the subsequent contraction) and, at the same time, an appraisal of SME performance during the crisis and the ensuing economic recovery. By identifying the winners and the losers of the economic crisis, we shall have a clear image of the ability of local entrepreneurship to adapt to new economic conditions and contribute to economic growth through innovation and increased productivity.

Results and discussion

The first step in our research effort is to estimate the output elasticity of labour α. The estimation has been performed for both the economy as a whole and for the six economic sectors taken into consideration based on their contribution to total gross value added



created in the economy. The estimation methodology has been described in the previous section and the data cover a 14-year time horizon (2000-2013). The results are presented in table no. 1 below:

Table no. 1: Output elasticities of labour Economy Industry Trade IT&C Real Estate Construction Agriculture

0,6261 0,6374 0,6932 0,5739 0,2349 0,5109 0,4348 Source: authors’ calculations

At this point, an important clarification must be made concerning the contribution of the SME segment to gross value added and the proportion of employees in the SME segment in the total number of employees in the Romanian economy. As previously discussed, these are necessary in order to estimate the labour and capital inputs in equation (9). For purposes of this study, a five-year average (2008-2012) has been considered with the exception of agriculture, for which data are not available and a proportion of 90% has been considered for both gross value added and the number of employees for the SME segment. The results are given in table no. 2 and 3:

Table no. 2: The contribution of SMEs to total gross value added created in different sectors of the Romanian economy, 2008-2012

Gross value added at factor prices, billion RON Industry Trade IT&C Real Estate Construction

Year Total %

SME Total % SME Total %


SME 08 85,7 31,7 65,4 68,1 15,9 30,1 6,8 95,3 26,7 68,3 09 75,1 32,6 55,9 68,1 14,8 28,8 5,0 94,9 21,9 72,9 10 83,9 31,0 56,6 64,1 14,8 31,7 4,9 95,8 19,8 71,1 11 88,2 30,8 59,8 62,2 14,8 33,1 5,0 95,4 19,5 68,5 12 95,4 30,3 61,6 63,0 15,8 36,0 5,8 96,7 18,5 73,4 Σ 428,3 31,3 299,2 65,1 75,9 31,9 27,4 95,6 106,4 70,8

Source: INSSE data, authors’ calculations.

Table no. 3: Number of employees in the Romanian economy, 2008-2012 Number of employees (thousands persons)

Industry Trade IT&C Real Estate Construction Year

Total % SME

Total % SME Total %


SME 08 1.644 49,5 1.543 76,7 145 58,2 47 89,3 554 77,2 09 1.423 50,4 1.410 75,9 135 59,7 43 89,3 469 79,1 10 1.346 50,1 1.330 76,1 130 59,3 41 88,4 393 78,1 11 1.387 50,9 1.362 77,0 134 59,0 41 87,8 418 79,7 12 1.381 50,2 1.369 76,2 137 58,9 40 88,2 400 80,9 Σ 7.181 50,2 7.013 76,4 681 59,0 211 88,6 2.235 79,0

Source: INSSE data.

Before we proceed to the discussion of the estimation results in respect of potential GDP and output gap for the Romanian business environment, we shall briefly analyse the contribution of production factors to economic growth in Romania over the 2001-2013 time frame. The subsequent figure no. 1 exhibits the results.


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Figure no. 1: Romania – real GDP dynamics, 2001-2013

Source: authors’ calculations.

As we can see, Romania’s high pre-crisis growth levels have been mostly due to significant improvement in TFP and recapitalization, as well as foreign-financed acquisition of technology. With the onset of the crisis in 2008, TFP rapidly contracted in 2009 and 2010 and has never recovered since. The economic recovery of 2011-2013 has been backed mainly by the capital stock in the economy, whose contribution to economic growth has varied only slightly over the time frame considered in our analysis, which was to be expected given that recent growth has been significantly influenced by one-off events such as unexpected agricultural growth in 2011 and by internal demand and exports and 2012 and 2013. The negative contribution of labour to economic growth highlights a weak area of the Romanian business environment, namely weak labour productivity, which requires immediate and significant investment and structural reform in education. It is only under these circumstances that human capital can actually contribute to economic growth and not hamper Romania’s economic development.

It is also worth noting that the dynamics of potential GDP have been significantly tempered in the post-crisis period, which is logical if we consider the severe effect of the recession on Romania’s economic growth potential. In this context, the closing of the output gap estimated for late 2013 is due to both solid growth in late 2012-2013, as well as the likely slowdown in Romania’s growth potential as result of the crisis, which further reflects the entrepreneurs’ sceptic stance on future economic recovery. Returning to pre-crisis levels of growth depends on several factors, such as accelerated implementation of structural reform, effective commitment to support the business environment, significant absorption of EU funds and substantial inflows of foreign direct investment.

We now turn our attention to an analysis of the output gap, at both economy and SME segment level, where we shall analyse the first six sectors in order of contribution to total gross value added created in the economy – industry, trade and services, information and communication, real estate transactions, construction and agriculture. Table no. 4 gives a centralised image of output gap, both at economy level and at sectoral level.

The model yields results consistent with the evolution of the Romanian economy in 2000-2014. In the first part of the previous decade (2000-2004), as Romania acquired technology and TFP and its competitiveness increased, the output gap closed, with the economy posting annual growth rates well in excess of its potential level. The fluctuations of output gap in



2005-2007, accompanied by sustained economic growth, can be partly attributed to the change in monetary policy regime that took place in Romania in 2005, with the National Bank switching to an inflation targeting regime based on a close correlation of policy rates with inflation expectations (and with expected GDP evolution in relation to its equilibrium level). In this context, output gap stood within a + / - 1 p.p. range in 2005-2006, with the economy growing from year to year and enjoying a comfortable increase in investment.

Table no. 4: Output gap at economy and sectoral levels, 2001-2013 Year Output

Gap SME

Industry SME Trade

SME IT&C

SME Real Estate

SME Construction

SME Agriculture

2001 -1,99% -1,26% 0,72% -1,50% -2,90% 2,18% -2,00% 2002 -0,86% 0,07% -5,91% 1,49% 2,52% 1,70% -2,36% 2003 -0,02% 0,92% -2,69% 0,30% -2,71% -1,56% 0,53% 2004 0,41% 1,57% -0,92% 0,40% -2,17% -6,23% 8,34% 2005 -0,67% -0,44% -0,46% -3,41% 2,15% -11,22% 0,56% 2006 0,05% 0,31% 4,01% 0,00% 3,90% -7,60% -0,14% 2007 2,00% 1,92% 4,91% 3,62% 3,75% 4,52% -6,54% 2008 5,90% 1,26% 10,00% 4,41% 3,43% 20,06% 0,81% 2009 -2,46% -3,67% -3,46% -2,33% -4,98% 5,99% -2,23% 2010 -3,76% -0,39% -5,31% -3,98% -5,42% 1,20% -5,00% 2011 -1,02% 0,57% -3,58% -1,19% -1,98% -10,11% 6,23% 2012 -1,28% -3,34% 3,41% 0,16% -1,10% -6,43% -5,48% 2013 1,68% 1,93% 2,56% 0,54% 2,90% 0,94% 4,32%

Source: INSSE data, Eurostat, AMECO, authors’ calculations.

Sustained economic growth continued in 2007-2008 when, on the back of a hike total factor productivity and capacity utilization, increased external competitiveness of the Romanian economy and reduction in unemployment, as well as unprecedented expansion of local entrepreneurship, the output gap closed and the economy overheated, growing far above its potential growth level. The financial crisis that started in late 2008 marked the collapse of the Romanian economy, which contracted in two consecutive years (by 6.6% in 2009 and 1.2% in 2010, respectively). During the recession, the National Bank of Romania has been reluctant to cut the policy rate, foreign investment fell drastically, the number of bankruptcies soared (and especially so within the SME segment) and the banking system faced the undesirable situation of a surge in non-performing loans, as well as liquidity and financing issues and was thus unable to finance the economy. The resulting increase in funding costs has severely affected entrepreneurship initiative in Romania. Naturally, this led to a negative output gap and to significantly lower potential GDP growth rates. Romania’s return to economic growth has been modest at first (2011 and 2012) and the surprises of 2013 and the first part of 2014 have brought actual GDP back on a consistent path to its potential level. However, Romania’s post-crisis growth rates are far from pre-crisis levels of growth as a result of the economy’s structural weakness that became evident during the recession, increasing public debt and slow post-recession recovery of aggregate demand.

The industrial sector has closely followed the evolution of the Romanian economy over the relevant horizon (please refer to figure no. 2). The pre-crisis growth in industry was due to both local entrepreneurship initiative and, more importantly, significant FDI inflow and total factor productivity, as technology was transferred to Romania. An important lesson of the 2001-2008 period is the negative contribution of labour to economic growth, with weak


Vol. 17 • No. 38 • February 2015 205

levels of labour productivity even in expansionary periods. The recession that started in 2008 was accompanied by a severe reduction in TFP and still weak labour productivity, which could not be counterbalanced by capital contribution to economic growth anymore. As a result, potential growth rates were near zero in industry during recession. The investment inflow in industry in 2011-2012 required a period of adjustment of productive capacity, a period that was characterised by weak TFP and negative output gap; this period ended in 2013, when the industrial sector posted its highest post-crisis growth levels. At the same time, a significant drawback the Romanian business environment in the industrial sector is weak labour productivity, which makes human capital a major concern to entrepreneurs in this sector, alongside investment and absorption of EU funds, as well as continuous innovation of local entrepreneurship.

Figure no. 2: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in Industry, 2001-2013

Source: authors’ calculations. Note: growth rates and output gap are plotted on the secondary axis.

The trade and services sector has exhibited greater volatility compared with the economy as a whole: during 2001-2005, as a result of a fast growing economy, trade and services had a high growth potential (in the range of 10% annually), while output gap was negative; in 2007-2008, consumption fully contributed to the overheating of the economy and output gap in the trade sector peaked at 10% (please refer to figure no. 3). During the ensuing economic recession, internal demand contracted severely and output gap turned to negative once again in 2009-2011 and subsequently closing due to the rebound of aggregate demand. However, it is important to emphasize the fact that a shrinking potential GDP in 2009-2013 was a key factor in the closing of the output gap in the trade and services sector, with the crisis seriously impacting this sector.

A distinguishing characteristic of SMEs in the trade and services sector has been the vastly positive contribution of labour to economic growth (unlike industry), whereas TFP has never recovered to pre-crisis levels after significantly contributing to sectoral growth in the pre-recessionary period. It this therefore imperative that the productivity rebound in order for the trade and services sector to get back on the healthy growth potential path. Therefore, in the case of local businesses operating in the trade and services sector, in which SMEs represent by far the largest job creators (over 76%), the main challenge in the near future is to increase productivity in the context of a positive contribution of labour.



Figure no. 3: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in Trade & Services, 2001-2013


Significant investment, as well as numerous local start-ups in the IT&C sector over the past decade led to a high sectoral growth potential, that has never been attained by actual growth, resulting in a negative output gap in 2000-2006. The output gap then closed in 2007 and peaked in 2008 on the back of total factor productivity (see figure no. 4 below). The crisis affected the IT&C sector, which posted negative growth rates in 2009 and 2010, mainly due to the negative contribution of TFP. It is worth noting that, after 2010, productivity in the IT&C sector has not recovered to pre-crisis levels and growth rates have been modest (albeit positive), which has led to a negative output gap expected to close in 2014/2015. Investment in capital and supporting entrepreneurship initiative in the IT&C sector, the need to continuously acquire new technologies and the development of human capital are all fundamental prerequisites for achieving pre-crisis growth levels for SMEs in the IT&C sector.

Figure no. 4: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in IT&C, 2001-2013



Vol. 17 • No. 38 • February 2015 207

The real estate and construction sectors have been significantly affected by the economic crisis, with high pre-crisis growth rates followed by sharp contractions in 2009-2013 and negative output gaps during this period (please see figures no. 5 and 6). Two obvious effects of the crisis have been (i) the deteriorating labour productivity in the real estate transactions sector, which in turn has led to significant adjustments in the number of employees in this sector, and (ii) the rapidly worsening TFP in the case of construction companies, as a result of very weak demand, both during the recession and afterwards. Necessary corrective measures (significant improvement in labour productivity and the need to adapt to the changing conditions of the business environment in Romania) are amplified by the fact that SMEs are the main employment providers in these sectors (creating 89% of jobs in real estate transactions and 79% of jobs in construction) and the main contributors to GVA (96% in the case of real estate transactions and 71% in the case of construction).

Figure no. 5: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in Real Estate Transactions, 2001-2013


Figure no. 6: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in Construction, 2001-2013




The agricultural sector, analysed in figure no. 7, has fluctuated significantly over the relevant time horizon, with good periods immediately followed by weak ones. Given the obsolete and underdeveloped agricultural infrastructure, weak productivity is to be expected and good years are likely due to external factors (such as favourable weather conditions). In order for SMEs in agriculture to achieve a sustainable yearly growth potential, significant investment in the capital base is mandatory, as well as the acquisition of modern technology, such that the contribution of agriculture to economic growth is not of random character anymore. In this context, EU funds are a likely and welcome solution; however, institutional progress is required in order to increase efficiency in EU funds absorption. Of even more concern is the fact that domestic agriculture has operated below its potential every year, the lack of investment in agriculture has a very high opportunity cost, especially if we factor in the significant contribution of agriculture to GDP (approx. 7% in year 2013).

Figure no. 7: Real GDP Evolution, SMEs in Agriculture, 2001-2013


Conclusions

Romania’s economy has exhibited significant volatility as a result of the long and complex transition process to a fully functional market economy and the accompanying structural and policy transformations. As we have seen, the economic crisis had a significant impact on the growth potential of Romania, which dropped far below pre-crisis levels, and also on total factor productivity fuelled by, among others, a significant reduction in foreign direct investment. The same is valid for industrial capacity utilization and structural unemployment which increased during the recession during to the hysteresis effect, leading to a significant weakening of the Romanian business environment.

By incorporating recent positive evolutions, the model yields positive signals and suggests the closing of the output gap of Romania in 2013. A note of caution is necessary, as returning to pre-crisis growth levels depends on several factors. Firstly, as we have seen, the industrial and trade and services sectors have been Romania’s main engines of economic growth before the crisis; however, during 2009-2013, they faced a drastic reduction of TFP and worsening levels of labour productivity. The recovery of these sectors


Vol. 17 • No. 38 • February 2015 209

to a healthy growth potential cannot happen in the absence of significant investment by the business environment (especially in the case of SMEs, who contribute significantly to the creation of value added in these sectors) and in the absence of EU funds absorption. The same can be said about the information and communication sector. As concerns the real estate transactions and construction sectors, which had important contributions to pre-crisis economic growth, they exhibited severe contraction during the recession due to worsening labour productivity and TFP. In the real estate sector this led to a natural reduction in the number of employees, while in the construction sector the return to sound growth levels depends on the recovery of the overall economy. The significant fluctuations in the agricultural sector are due to weak productivity and obsolete infrastructure and require significant investment in order to increase productivity and enter a sustainable growth path.

The model gives a clear message: Romanian entrepreneurship has been severely affected by the economic crisis and the productivity of SMEs in the six main economic sectors has significantly slowed down as a result. This is a direct result of the SMEs' low capacity to innovate, their concentration in low value added-generating sectors, limited access to financing and weak management. It is worrisome that even after the end of the recession the SME segment is still operating below potential in almost all sectors (with the sole exception of trade, which is normal considering the recovery in aggregate demand). Considering that the output gap is expected to close in 2013/14, this highlights the competitive advantage that large companies that control the market have over SMEs, which has allowed the former to better weather the economic crisis and to return to growth rates near pre-crisis levels. In order to achieve this, entrepreneurs in the SME segment need to increase their potential to innovate.

In order to support entrepreneurship in Romania, it is imperative that authorities act to promote competitiveness and the attractiveness of the Romanian business environment, by means of institutional and legal reform and by increasing the transparency and stability of the fiscal system; however, entrepreneurial education is also paramount, as it has a direct impact on employed human capital.

References Altăr, M., Necula, C. and Bobeică, G., 2010. Estimating Potential GDP for the Romanian

Economy. An Eclectic Approach. Romanian Journal of Economic Forecasting, 3/2010, pp.5-25.

Ardic, O.P., Mylenko, N. and Saltane, V., 2011. Small and Medium Enterprises – A Cross-Country Analysis with a New Data Set. Policy Research Working Paper 5538, The World Bank.

Ayyagari, M., Demirgüç-Kunt, A. and Maksimovic, V., 2011. Small vs. Young Firms Around the World – Contribution to Employment, Job Creation and Growth. Policy Research Working Paper 5631, The World Bank.

Beck, T. and Demirgüç-Kunt, A, 2006. Small and medium-size enterprises: Access to finance as a growth constraint. Journal of Banking and Finance, 30, pp.2931-2943.

Beck, T., Demirgüç-Kunt, A. and Levine, R., 2005. SMEs, Growth and Poverty. [online] NBER Working Paper 11224. Available at: <http://www.nber.org/papers/w11224> [Accessed 26 November 2014].



Ciucan-Rusu, L. and Szabo, Z., 2013. The Pyramid of Entrepreneurship in Romania: Towards New Approach. In: Ramadani, B. and Schneider, C., eds., 2013. Entrepreneurship in the Balkans. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

Cressy, R. and Tovainen, O., 2001. Is there adverse selection in the credit market? Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 3(3), pp. 215-238.

Denis, C., Grenouilleau, D., McMorrow, K. and Roger, W., 2006. Calculating potential growth rates and output gaps - A revised production function approach. European Commission Economic Papers, 247.

Denis C., Mc Morrow K. and Röger W., 2002. Production Function Approach to Calculating Potential Growth and Output Gaps - Estimates for the EU Member States and the US. Economic Paper, 176, European Commission.

Dietrich, A., 2010. Explaining Loan Rate Differentials Between Small and Large Companies: Evidence from Switzerland. Small Business Economics, 38(4), pp.481-494.

Gălăţescu, A., Rădulescu, B. and Copaciu, M., 2007. Estimarea PIB Potenţial în România. [pdf] Caiete de Studii nr. 20, BNR. Available at: <http://www.bnr.ro/ DocumentInformation.aspx?idInfoClass=6786&idDocument=3710&directLink=1> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

Guerriero, M., 2012. The Labour Share of Income around the World. Evidence from a Panel Dataset, Inequalities and Development: new challenges, new measurements?. [pdf] University of Bordeaux. Available at: <http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/ Guerriero2012.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

Haltiwanger, J., Jarmin, R. S. and Miranda, J., 2010. Who Creates Jobs? Small vs. Large vs. Young. [pdf] NBER Working Paper, 16300. Available at: <http://www.nber.org/ papers/w16300.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

International Monetary Fund, 2003. Romania: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix. [pdf] IMF Country Report 03/12. Available at: <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ ft/scr/2004/cr04220.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

International Monetary Fund, 2012. Romania: Selected Issues. [pdf] IMF Country Report. 12/291. Available at: <http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2012/cr12291.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

Konuki, T., 2008. Estimating Potential Output and the Output Gap in Slovakia. [pdf] IMF WP, 08/275. Available at: <https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2008/wp 08275.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014].

Kuttner, K.N., 1994. Estimating Potential Output as a Latent Variable. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 12(3), pp.361-368.

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Lafuente, E. and Rabetino, R., 2007. Human Capital as a Determinant of Small Firms' Growth in Romania: A Quantile Approach. CEBR WP, 03. [pdf] Available at: <http://www.kfacts.ia.ro/uploads/File/WP032007.pdf> [Accessed 26 November 2014]

Maksimovic, V. and Phillips, G., 2002. Do Conglomerate Firms Allocate Resources Inefficiently? Evidence from Plant-Level Data. Journal of Finance, 57, pp.721-767.

Marchiş, G., 2011. Study Regarding Romanian Entrepreneurship. EuroEconomica, 30(5).

Ozbek, L. and Ozlale, U., 2005. Employing the extended Kalman filter in measuring the output gap. Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 29, pp.1611-1622.

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Volchek, D., 2013. Internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises and impact of institutions on international entrepreneurship in emerging economies: the case of Russia. [pdf] Available at: <https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/93790/isbn 9529522655127.pdf?sequence=2> [Accessed 26 November 2014]

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World Bank, 1994. Can Intervention Work? The Role of Government in SME Success. Washington DC: World Bank.

The Business of BankingWhat Every Policy Maker Needs to Know

The Business of Banking: What Every Policy Maker Needs to Know 15

BANKS

PROSPE

RITY

DE

POSITS

LOANS

JOBS

REGULATION

NONBANKS

Deposits Individuals, businesses, nonprofits, municipalities, states and federal

government entities all make deposits at banks. Customers benefit

by having their funds safe and readily accessible. They also receive

access to a convenient, easy way to pay bills by check or, increasingly,

through various forms of online payments. Additional bank services help

customers build wealth.

18 22

16 20

Access TrusTs And esTATes

sAFeGuArdInG sAvInGs BuILdInG weALTh

16 American Bankers Association

sAFeGuArdInG sAvInGs

Banks and depositors are partners when it comes to savings. Banks pay depositors interest on savings at varying rates, depending on the type of product. Products with longer time frames, like multiyear certificates of deposit, usually offer higher rates of interest than accounts with shorter terms or that offer on-demand access, like basic savings or checking accounts.

Accounts that offer full access—such as checking or other transaction accounts—allow customers to make unlimited transactions. Since it is harder for banks to commit these funds to loans, little or no interest is paid to account holders. However, the accounts are often combined with free services, such as free checking (if the balance is maintained above a certain level). Deposit account types include:

• Checking accounts• Savings accounts• Certificates of deposit (CDs)• Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs)

Banks Pay to Insure Depositors The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per federally insured institution. Customers highly value the security of knowing their funds are protected.

All FDIC member banks pay the premiums that fund the Deposit Insurance Fund. In fact, banks are solely responsible for all of the FDIC’s expenses, from paper clips and office supplies for its day-to-day operations, to the losses incurred when a bank fails. No taxpayer funds are used.

CusTomEr ConfiDEnCE

“There are many positives to establishing a relationship with an insured financial institution. Access to an account at a federally insured institution provides households with the opportunity to conduct basic financial transactions, build wealth, save for emergency and long-term security needs, and access credit on fair and affordable terms...”

martin Gruenberg, FdIc chairman

$0

$2

$4

$6

$8

$10

$12

1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Dep

osits

($ T

)

Strong Deposit Growth

Recessions


Business and Government Transaction Accounts

Businesses, municipalities and state and federal government entities must have a reliable mechanism to manage their funds. Banks, through the payments system, are vital partners with businesses and governments. Banks provide a wide array of services, helping them receive payments from customers, facilitate payments to suppliers and manage the receipt of cash. Special services and accounts that banks offer businesses and governments to manage cash include:

• Lockboxes• Sweep accounts• Disbursement accounts

BACKGrounD

Banks Work Closely with MunicipalitiesBanks have long worked closely with their local municipal bodies—city governments, schools, libraries, hospitals and numerous boards and commissions. These municipalities need all of the banking services that individuals and businesses need: deposit accounts, cash management, loans, pension advisory services and much more. In addition, many bank employees serve their communities through appointments to or volunteering for local boards and commissions.

One unintended outcome of the Dodd-Frank Act may be to limit the services banks provide to municipalities. Dodd-Frank established a regulatory scheme for unregulated entities providing “advice” to municipalities with regard to “municipal financial products” related to securities. A rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would reach all “funds held by or on behalf of a municipal entity,” including funds in deposit or cash management accounts or pension funds contributed by municipal employees.

Because the SEC didn’t define “advice,” this could mean that a teller that helps a local government employee open a government deposit account would have to be registered as a municipal advisor and be regulated by the SEC. The SEC’s proposal also would require bank employees that volunteer for local government boards and commissions to register. Some banks may choose not to take on the new costs and liabilities that come with receiving the deposits of local communities or making loans to them.

Reliable Access to Accounts Banks consistently deliver funds to customers when they request them. Access is assumed—even in emergency situations. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, many banks in flooded areas were open for business within 24 hours of the storm, despite damaged or destroyed branches. More recently, in advance of Superstorm Sandy, many banks deployed temporary ATMs and opened for business soon after the storm, announcing waived fees for customers affected by flooding and power outages.

CusTomEr ConfiDEnCE

• Bank drafts (bills of exchange)• Remote deposit capture• Business credit and debit cards


Access

Convenient Access to Payments and funds

Bank customers expect and demand convenient fund access 24 hours a day and seven days a week around the world. Banks have responded with many ways to make and receive payments. Paper checks are familiar, but electronic payment methods, as shown below, are more common. Here are some examples:

The Automated clearing house (Ach) system is used to execute bill pay and direct deposit transactions, as well as business-to-business payments. The ACH system processes transactions in large batches daily through central clearinghouses.

wire transfers are accomplished through a direct connection between two banks. The funds are transferred immediately and settlement is final.

payment cards, which access both deposits (debit cards) and loans (credit cards), provide everyday convenience for making purchases that is enjoyed by individuals 24/7 around the world.

mobile payments, or digital wallets, take advantage of advances in smartphone technology allowing individuals to use their phone to initiate payments instead of plastic cards. Transactions are often funded by a debit, credit or prepaid card linked to the smartphone’s payment application. Person-to-person (P2P) transfers of funds via mobile devices is another payment mechanism that customers are exploring and banks are offering.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2005 2010 2015

Other Cash Checks Credit Cards Debit Cards

Mar

ket S

hare

of C

onsu

mer

Pay

men

ts

Consumer Payments

Source: The Nilson Report 2011

DiD you KnoW?Payment cards are responsible for more than $3.5 trillion in 2012 transactions.

DiD you KnoW?Ancient cultures used instruments similar to checks.

DiD you KnoW?The payment processing system handled about 3,900 transactions every second in 2012.


Banks Pay for the Risk of Fraud Banks cover the significant risks and costs associated with providing electronic payments. With the majority of bank customers accessing their accounts via the Internet—often through a mobile device—customers have become accustomed to having their funds available 24/7. Banks protect this constant availability with an intricate set of security measures, which include physical controls, such as locked perimeters and enclosures, and PIN and password secured locks. Security measures also include network controls, such as firewalls to prevent unauthorized or covert use of the network and intrusion detection systems to monitor network inquiries and activity. Interchange fees help to pay for these risks, costs, conveniences, security measures and physical controls.

… And Protect National SecurityBanks have first-hand experience with terrorist attacks and cyber attacks by organized criminals and protest groups. Banks have also been in the direct line of major natural disasters. Banks have robust security programs in place to protect their systems, but they also rely upon information sharing with federal agencies to help safeguard their critical systems. It is only through an active public-private partnership that our industry and government can ensure that all resources are working in concert to protect and defend our nation’s financial systems from cyber and other attacks. Legislation designed to enhance this partnership could be helpful, but great care must taken to avoid excessive regulatory requirements that could actually undermine public-private partnership efforts.

CusTomEr ConfiDEnCE

Protecting Customer Accounts

Regardless of the method used by bank customers to access their funds, banks expend considerable resources protecting customer accounts from unauthorized access and fraud. The three main objectives in protecting customer account information are to: 1) ensure the security and confidentiality of customer information, 2) to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information and 3) protect against unauthorized access to or use of customer information that could result in harm or inconvenience to any customer.

To help protect bank customers from fraud, banks take a layered approach, using security controls consistent with the level of risk of the transaction or to the bank customer’s account. Effective controls may include the following:

• Determining if requests to access an account via any channel are from actual customers and being made by those customers, not others

• Detecting fraud and monitoring transactions to determine if account activity is typical for the bank customer based on history and behavior

• Verifying transactions, particularly if conducted online, such as through a text to a mobile device

• Using questions that verify customers; to which only they know the answer, particularly when customers are not using their typical device


BuILdInG weALTh

Saving for the long term involves some amount of risk. Savers often turn to the asset management and advisory services offered by bank trust departments and bank affiliates or subsidiaries, which help customers access products that meet the customers’ savings needs, time horizon and risk preference.

retirement Accounts

Perhaps the most familiar wealth-building activity for individuals is saving for retirement. Individuals can open tax-advantaged accounts called individual retirement accounts (IRAs) in the bank in the form of a CD or other traditional, FDIC-insured products.

Employers—both business and government—have more complex needs and work with banks to set up plans for the benefit of their employees. Many employers establish defined benefit plans (e.g., traditional pension plans) and/or defined contribution plans (e.g., 401(k) plans). Banks with fiduciary powers—legal duties that require them to act in the best interests of their client—serve as advisors to these plans and help to prudently manage the investments on behalf of the employers. Banks also act as service providers to these plans in other nonfiduciary capacities such as record keeper or custodian.

DiD you KnoW?customers trust banks and their affiliates with retirement accounts valued at about $10.7 trillion.

Where Consumers Keep Their Savings

Corporate Equities

21%

Deposits 14%

Noncorporate Equities

13%

Pension Fund Reserves

29%

Bonds 8%

Mutual Funds 10%

Other 3%

Life Insurance 2%

Source: Federal Reserve Board


Bank investment management Accounts

Many banks provide investment management services for the portfolios or particular assets of individuals, families and institutional investors such as insurance companies, business entities, governmental bodies and endowments. Customers have many options. They can leave investment decisions up to the professionals in the bank or just ask for advice and do it themselves. Within these investment management accounts, banks may manage and provide advice on various types of assets for their customers, including the following:

• Stocks and bonds• Financial derivatives• Hedge funds In addition to investment management accounts, banks can provide financial planning services to clients. This advice may cover savings, retirement, taxes, insurance and estate planning, among other things.

Brokerage and investment Adviser Accounts

Some banks have broker-dealer affiliates (see below for more information on affiliates) that offer investment accounts to the public. In these accounts, individuals and businesses can direct the broker-dealer to purchase and sell securities on a commission. If the broker-dealer offers advice or has investment discretion over the account, it must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser. Investment advisers can provide investment advice for a fee, as well as manage a portfolio of securities on behalf of the customer. Investment advisers can also provide financial planning services to help clients develop strategies or financial plans to meet their particular goals.

BACKGrounD

Bank Structure: How Do Affiliates Work?Bank affiliates are sister companies under a bank or savings and loan holding company. A holding company is any company that owns one or more banks. Because the holding company structure makes it easier to raise capital, about 75 percent of banks are organized this way.

Holding companies can own more than just banks. They can own mortgage companies, broker-dealers and more, all referred to as affiliates. This structure is a benefit to bank customers who want more financial products. Customers can work with a familiar company and people and access more than just deposit products. Holding companies are supervised by the Federal Reserve to ensure the bank’s safety is not jeopardized by affiliate activities. The affiliates, as appropriate, are also regulated. See page 45 for the chapter on bank regulation.

• Real estate• Mineral interests• Art


TrusTs And esTATes

Customers have long relied upon banks for many kinds of trusts, including revocable, irrevocable, family and charitable trusts. Under a trust, the trustee (bank) takes legal title to the trust property to manage it for the benefit of the trust beneficiaries.

Trusts can be very specific and establish careful instructions for any party to the trust and typically outline both the responsibilities of the trustee and the benefits of the recipient, the beneficiary.

This makes a trust a very flexible tool for all kinds of users, such as:

Individuals: Individuals often use trusts in estate planning to set up funding for loved ones.

charitable organizations: Banks often serve as a trustee of charitable trusts that make financial contributions to one or more charitable entities. In addition, some banks serve as a trustee for private foundations that make grants.

employee Benefit plans: Many employers offer their employees retirement benefit plans such as defined benefit and defined contribution plans. These plans are most often established as a trust. Bank trust departments can act as trustee to these retirement plan trusts and assume the responsibility for holding, investing and keeping records on the assets in the plan, as well as making distributions and accepting contributions as needed.

How Bank Trust Departments Keep Assets Safe

Banks Are FiduciariesThe trust departments of banks adhere to the highest fiduciary standards under state statutory and common law, protecting both the interests of beneficiaries and the assets placed in the care of the trust department. This fiduciary duty requires them to be loyal, serving only the interests of the beneficiaries. It also requires them to be impartial, even when they have two beneficiaries with potentially competing interests. Bank trust departments are regularly examined in accordance with these and many other requirements.

Banks Separate Trust AssetsThe noncash assets (e.g., stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.) of a trust, retirement, investment or custody account are completely segregated from the bank’s assets. If something were to happen to the bank, creditors of the bank do not have access to these funds. Account ownership remains with the individuals or entities for whose benefit the bank is acting as fiduciary or custodian and can be transferred to another fiduciary or custodian at any time.

CusTomEr ConfiDEnCE


BACKGrounD

Banks Help Customers Meet Specific Needs with TrustsIndividual customers turn to their banks to help them meet specific financial needs, such as:

• Passing along a family farm or business to the next generation

• Providing for the children from a previous marriage

• Ensuring that a disabled adult or child receives the benefit of desired property or other assets

• Allowing a surviving spouse to receive income from inherited assets and then passing the income or assets onto a designated charity when the spouse passes

Estates

Banks may also serve in a fiduciary capacity as an executor of a deceased person’s estate. In that role, the bank must execute a number of important duties, including inventorying estate assets, paying creditors, preparing tax returns, making distributions to beneficiaries, funding trusts established under a will and closing the estate with the probate court.

Corporate Trustees

Banks that serve as corporate trustees, unlike personal or institutional trustees, primarily provide securities processing services to issuers of securities. Banks take on many roles as corporate trustees, including:

• indenture trustee, representing the interests of bondholders;• paying agent, making interest payments to bondholders and expenses

associated with the transaction; and • registrar and transfer agent, keeping the ownership records regarding the

purchase and sale of bonds.


Banks Are the Primary Source of Credit

$250 billionBanks have added this

amount of business loans in the last two years.

$1.8 trillionBanks hold this amount

in mortgage loans.

25 millionBanks financed more

than this number of small business loans in 2013.

$425 billionBanks lend this amount to

state and local governments.


BANKS

PROSPE

RITY

DE

POSITS

LOANS

JOBS

REGULATION

NONBANKS

Loans Credit is the lifeblood of our economy and banks are its primary provider.

Banks and their customers work together when it comes to saving and

lending. Banks pay interest to attract customer savings deposits. In turn,

banks use a portion of those deposits and other money to fund a range

of credit products for consumers, businesses of all sizes, governments

and municipalities.

28 31

26 30

BusInesses FundInG For LoAns

consumers GovernmenTs


consumers

Credit enables consumers to accomplish goals, such as purchasing furniture, cars and homes. Credit enables consumers to borrow the money they need to make a purchase now and pay it off over time.

residential mortgage Lending Builds relationships

The biggest dream for many consumers is to purchase a home. This dream can become a reality through a mortgage, which stretches the payment out over many years. It is not surprising that mortgage loans account for 70 percent of all household debt.

The mechanics of residential mortgage lending are simple. A bank provides its customer with most of the funds to purchase a home and in exchange, the customer promises to repay the bank and provides the home as collateral. Since the home is collateral, should the homebuyer someday be unable to repay the loan, the bank can take and sell off the property to recoup a portion of its losses. That collateral makes the loan less risky and keeps interest rates as low as possible. The bank and customer work together to find a payment term—typically from 15 to 30 years.

“You’re thinking of this place all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money’s not here. Your money’s in Joe’s house...right next to yours. And in the Kennedy house, and Mrs. Macklin’s house, and a hundred others.”

George Bailey, It’s a Wonderful Life

Banks and Customers Work Together to Find the Right Loan

Banks work with their customers to find the type of loan that achieves their goals. Banks help customers to understand the loan terms and how to pay it off. This partnership allows customers to develop long-term relationships with their banks, and such long-term relationships are a key to a bank’s success. Because it is central to banks to treat customers fairly, the banking industry fully supports effective consumer protection.

Banks have a proud history of prudent lending to creditworthy households, accomplished through these sound underwriting practices. Leading up to the financial crisis, many nonbank competitors loosened underwriting standards and contributed to the housing boom—and bust. Most traditional banks stayed true to conventional standards but will still be required to comply with the increased regulatory requirements that have followed the housing meltdown. These new rules for mortgage lending programs and products limit banks’ ability to address consumer need. New regulations mean less flexibility when underwriting mortgages and higher compliance costs, too—limiting banks’ ability to lend. As a result, banks find it harder to meet the increased demand from qualified borrowers for mortgages, frustrating borrowers, banks and economic growth.

CusTomEr ConfiDEnCE

DiD you KnoW?Banks have about $1.8 trillion in mortgages on their books.


Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel

Consumer Credit

Mortgage 70%

Home Equity Revolving

5%

Auto Loan 7%

Credit Card 6%

Student Loan 9%

Other 3%

Credit Cards Benefit Consumers, Businesses

Credit cards have become an everyday tool for customers—and businesses—to make purchases and manage their finances. In fact, according to the Federal Reserve, nearly 78 percent of American families now have at least one bank-issued credit card. It is no wonder, considering the benefits cards provide:

• Credit card customers receive the benefit of a secure and convenient purchasing experience, providing them with seamless access to funds at any time day or night, almost anywhere in the world. The loans can be interest free (if paid back within 30 days) or with interest over time, all at the customer’s choice.

• Merchants who accept cards allow customers to speed through the check-out line, receive significant increases in sales volume, reduce fraud risk, and guarantee payment, creating a more positive experience for customers.

Because credit cards are so simple and convenient to use today, it is easy to take for granted the decades of investment and innovation that were required to make this so. Credit cards started in the 1950s as charge cards that had to be paid off in full each month. Soon, companies began to allow customers to pay their balance over time and at any merchant. These transactions were processed on a manual carbon imprint machine.

Today’s credit card business involves a vast electronic infrastructure that connects consumers, merchants, banks, investors, card networks and transaction processing equipment. This system has evolved over decades at a significant cost and is the result of considerable effort and innovation. Remarkably, despite the costs and the risks involved, card issuers continue making unsecured, open-ended loans available to consumers who can continually access them over a long period of time.

Learn more about interchange fees ataba.com/keyIssues.

2014 Key Banking Issues for CongressWhy They Matter to You and Your Constituents

Farm Credit System

Bank Examination Legislation Cybersecurity

QM/Ability to Repay Interchange Fees Patent Reform Swaps

Community Bank Regulatory Relief

Emerging Payments Flood Insurance GSE Reform

Credit Union Tax ExemptionBank Examination LEgisLation | community Bank rEguLatory rELiEf

crEdit union tax ExEmption | cyBErsEcurity

EmErging paymEnts | farm crEdit systEm | fLood insurancE

gsE rEform | Qm/aBiLity to rEpay | intErchangE fEEs

patEnt rEform | swaps

http://www.aba.com/Advocacy/Grassroots/Documents/Key-Issues-2014.pdf


BusInesses

small Business Lending spurs the Economy

The presence of banks in communities throughout our nation is critical to meeting the unique needs of small businesses. By lending to small businesses, banks help them to expand, create jobs and spur economic growth. Bankers know that the future of their communities and regions depends on their support for small business. It’s a partnership that works for the business owner, the community and the bank.

Credit Cards for small BusinessesTraditional business loans are only one way that small businesses access credit. Many businesses get started—and continue to operate—through the use of credit cards. Credit cards provide unique benefits for business owners, according to the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council. These benefits include:

• Facilitating market expansion• Guaranteeing payments• Enabling businesses to weather economic difficulties• Enhancing efficiency• Eliminating the cost of setting up and maintaining in-house credit

and billing systems• Reducing or eliminating employee theft

A recent study shows that small business use of credit cards is a strong contributor to growth, enabling businesses to hire and stimulate the economy.

small Business Administration Loans One way that bankers partner with small businesses is by offering loans through the Small Business Administration (SBA) program. SBA loans are designed to make credit available to small businesses that cannot get credit on reasonable terms elsewhere. These loans can be used to finance the start up, operations or expansion of a business. The SBA guarantees loans made to qualified small businesses, transferring some of the risk from bank lenders to the SBA. SBA-guaranteed loans through banks have helped thousands of small businesses become established, grow and thereby create jobs and economic development.

“Community banks with assets of less than $1 billion account for a little more than 10 percent of the banking assets in our country, but provide nearly 40 percent of all the small loans that insured financial institutions make to businesses and farms.”

martin Gruenberg, FdIc chairman

DiD you KnoW?Banks have provided $652 billion in outstanding loans to small businesses and farmers.

Small businesses receive 24 percent of all bank loans to businesses.

DiD you KnoW?Bank lending to all businesses has increased 190 percent within the past 20 years.


BACKGrounD

Lending in Economic CyclesWhen the economy hits difficult conditions, some borrowers default and banks are forced to write off bad loans that had been made during better economic conditions. Demand for loans from businesses also decline, as businesses are hesitant to expand and take on more debt that might be hard to repay in difficult economic conditions. At the beginning of a downturn, businesses often draw on lines of credit to ensure they have enough cash on hand for payrolls and inventory. This was particularly the case in late 2008 when borrowing increased by $54.8 billion from 2007 to 2008.

The recovery in loan volume following the most recent recession has been robust for business loans. This recovery is even more remarkable given that loan demand has not fully recovered. As the economy improves, both consumers and businesses become more confident, which increases loan demand, allowing banks to continue to increase lending.

“You need size, you need scale, because you need a solid funding base to commit large amounts of capital for clients.”

daniel pinto, Jpmorgan Investment and corporate Bank co-chief executive, told Financial Times.

Banks of All sizes serve Businesses of All sizes

Different sizes of banks serve the unique financial needs of diverse businesses. Smaller, local community banks get to know their business customers personally, and the relationships sometimes span generations. Larger banks provide the financing and specialized services that large businesses and multinational corporations demand.

An example of a need that only a large bank could fill is intraday lines of credit. Large multinational businesses need large amounts of cash on a short-term basis for business operations. Large banks provide these companies with billions of dollars of “working capital” credit, so the funds are there when the business needs them for payroll and other purposes. This allows the business to use its cash to create jobs and expand operations rather than holding it idle in an account for when it might be needed.

Smaller banks supply the credit needed by smaller businesses, many of which provide critical support for large companies. Banks of all sizes provide loans to the employees who work in small and large businesses alike, and to the retail stores where those employees shop.

• Source: Federal Reserve

Banks Increase Business Lending 8 of the Last 10 Years

$ B

illion

s

Recessions

$0

$400

$800

$1,200

$1,600

1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2009 2013-80%

-60%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012

Stronger Business Loan Demand Net Percentage Reporting Stronger Business Loan Demand from Small Firms

Recessions

Neutral

Stronger

Weaker

Source: Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey


GovernmenTs

Banks help state and local governments finance their operational needs with loans. For example, banks might finance the government purchase of additional police cars, fire engines or equipment to build roads. Such loans are often similar to business loans. One unique type of loan that a bank offers municipalities is a tax anticipation loan, where municipalities borrow against revenues they expect to receive in the near future. This helps governments to bridge the temporary gap between expenditures and revenue.

Banks Help Meet State & Local Governments’ Borrowing Needs

$0

$100

$200

$300

$400

1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Municipal Securities & Loans Held by Depository Institutions

• Source: Federal Reserve

$ Bi

llion

s

Recessions

Letters of Credit Allow Large Purchases

Banks also serve governments by offering letters of credit, just as banks do for their commercial customers. A letter of credit is a guarantee issued to a seller that the purchaser will pay for the good or service purchased. This service allows governments to pay for their purchases at some point in the future, better managing cash flows.

Banks support the municipal Bond market

Municipal bonds serve as a funding source for municipal infrastructure projects such as schools, courthouses, water treatment plants and roads. Banking institutions support this market both as major investors and by standing ready to buy and sell municipal bonds.


Banks and Government Work Together

Banks and governments work together to promote important social and economic objectives through government-sponsored loan programs. For example, state or county governments may work with banks to finance the construction of a hospital. Loan subsidies and guarantees enable banks to make loans to those who otherwise could not afford them.

FundInG For LoAns

The main funding source for banks is deposits—customer deposits make up 68 percent of bank funding. Banks also access other resources so that they can make more loans. For starters, many banks are organized as subsidiaries of bank holding companies. Investments from those holding companies provide 15 percent of bank funding.

Banks go to the capital markets for about 7 percent of their funding by issuing bonds and other credit market instruments. Bonds are not insured by the FDIC, so they pay a higher rate of interest than an insured deposit. This compensates investors for the additional risk. Banks issue debt in different maturities to match the timeframes of the types of loans they make.

Banks also routinely lend to each other, which makes up 2 percent of funding. The remaining sources of funds are spread out over a number of categories; these sources can also be used to fund loans.

Credit Market Instruments

7%

Checkable Deposits

12%

Small Time and Savings Deposits

56%

Holding Company

Investment 15%

Net Interbank Liabilities

2% Other 8%

Source: Federal Reserve

Bank Funding


federal Home Loan Bank Advances supplement funding

Another major source of funding for bank lending is to become a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) System. The Federal Home Loan Banks are cooperatives that were created by Congress as a response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. The FHLBs help to ensure that community banks have funds to lend to customers in all market conditions. The FHLBs have been particularly beneficial for portfolio mortgage lenders—those that hold rather than sell loans in the secondary market (e.g., to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).

Banks become members of one of the FHLBs by buying stock in it. Banks are then eligible to borrow funds (called advances) from the FHLB, in return for pledging specific assets on each member bank’s books. These assets generally consist of home mortgage loans, although some other assets such as farm and small business loans are also allowed. Member banks use these advances to extend new home loans or other consumer loans to customers.

The FHLB system has worked very well over the past 80 years, particularly during the early stages of the recent financial crisis. Interbank funding at that time was challenged, but FHLBs continued to provide lendable funds to their member banks, even as other credit markets around the world froze.

Federal Home Loan Banks Step Up During Financial Crisis

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013

Fede

ral H

ome

Loan

Adv

ance

s, $

B

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Recessions


BACKGrounD

Government-Sponsored Enterprises and Mortgage SecuritizationTwo government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were put in place by Congress to support the housing and mortgage markets and to expand opportunities for homeownership and affordable rental housing. Fannie Mae was chartered during the Great Depression and was tasked with providing local banks with federal money for financing home mortgages by providing a guarantee on the securitization, allowing banks to originate more mortgages. After Fannie Mae was made into a private institution in 1968, Freddie Mac was chartered to carry out a similar purpose. Together, they currently purchase or guarantee about 65 percent of new mortgage originations in 2011. The market dominance of the GSEs has remained particularly high in recent years as a result of the financial crisis and the reluctance of the private market to reenter mortgage finance until the market shows greater stability.

Although both of these evolved into private corporations without an explicit guarantee by the federal government, many believed that they would be supported in the event of a major downturn, which is exactly what happened when both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put into conservatorship in 2008 to avoid insolvency. Under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and with financial support provided by the U.S. Treasury, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been able to borrow in international markets at low rates. Following the financial crisis, the private securitization market for mortgages has been almost nonexistent. The two GSEs, funded by Treasury, were able to continue securitizing residential mortgages. FHFA has the authority to manage the GSEs while they are in conservatorship. Congressional action is necessary for the GSEs to exit conservatorship and determine the long-term structure of the housing finance system, which nearly all agree must rely more heavily on private capital.

Banks Expand Lending Through securitization

Another way that a bank can expand lending is to sell its loans. When the bank receives payment for the loans, it can increase lending to new borrowers.

The buyer of the loans pools loans with similar attributes together, creating a security. For example, similar mortgage loans might be pooled together. Securities are then sold to investors, with the pool of loans as collateral. The interest and principal payments collected from the loans over time pay back the investors. This process is known as securitization.

Securitization has been used extensively to securitize home mortgages, called mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and also for other types of loans, including automobile loans, credit card accounts, and home equity loans. When the secondary markets and securitization work well, banks can lend more money. Moreover, these loans are typically at lower interest rates, because the risk is spread across the many investors of the securities. Banks in this way rely on the secondary market to ensure borrowers have adequate access to the money they need.

DiD you KnoW?The Federal reserve has purchased $1.6 trillion in mortgage backed securities.

ACCESAREA UNUI CREDIT

Solicitarea și contractarea unei facilități de creditare

Pasul 0. Este acest credit necesar?

Înainte de a solicita orice fel de facilitate de creditare (fie că vorbim de un credit

ipotecar, de consum, card de credit etc.), primul pas recomandat este o analiză

serioasă a nevoii de a contracta acel produs. Provocarile economice din anii trecuți

au constituit pentru multi dintre noi o încercare din punct de vedere financiar și ne-au

adus tuturor în atenție importanța unei decizii bine chibzuite.

De aceea, înainte de a solicita sau utiliza o facilitate de creditare, răspundeți la

următoarea întrebare: Este această achiziție (casă, mașină, articol vestimentar etc. )

absolut necesară acum?

Foarte important: analizează cu sinceritate certitudinea veniturilor actuale. Cât

de sigure sunt acestea în anul urmator? Sau peste 3 ani? Sau 10 ani?

Pasul 1. Ce produs de finanțare mi se potrivește?

Vom clasifica creditele în funcție de destinația acestora, întrucât la acest moment

deja știi pentru ce îți dorești să soliciți facilitatea de creditare:

1. Credite pentru achiziția/ construirea unei locuințe

- credite Prima Casă - conform reglementărilor existente în luna martie 2015

destinate achiziției/ construirii primei locuințe (plus alte situații, conform legislației de

la data solicitării creditului)

se acordă pe maxim 30 ani

avansul minim este de 5%

garanția Statului Român pentru 50% din valoarea creditului

dobânda maximă garantată prin legislație: ROBOR 3M+2,5%

comision de garantare, datorat FNGCIMM: 0,49% pe an, aplicat la 50% din soldul

creditului la data prevăzută în legislație

-credite Ipotecare - conform reglementarilor în vigoare

destinate achiziției/construirii unei locuințe (pentru cei ce nu îndeplinesc condițiile

Programului Prima Casă sau nu doresc achiziționarea/ construirea unei locuințe prin

intermediul Programului)

se acordă pe maxim 35 ani

avans minim de 15% pentru credite în RON și 25% pentru credite în EUR (sau în alt

procent în funcție de situațiile prevăzute în legislație)

imobilul achiziționat/ construit garantează creditul contractat

-credite Imobiliare

similar creditului ipotecar, însa nu este necesar ca imobilul achiziționat prin

intermediul creditului să garanteze creditul, sunt utilizate alte ipoteci imobiliare, care

nu fac obiectul finanțării.

2. Credite de consum

2a. facilități de creditare pentru nevoi personale ne-nominalizate: nu necesită

justificarea destinației față de finanțator.

-descoperit de cont

util pentru achitarea cheltuielilor neprevăzute sau în lunile în care cheltuielile

depășesc veniturile la dispoziție

anexat contului de încasare a salariului/ pensiei

dobânda se aplică doar sumelor utilizate din descoperit, pentru perioada în care sunt

utilizate

-card de credit

util pentru cheltuieli frecvente de valoare mică, plătite cu cardul la comerciant

(retragerile de numerar sunt comisionate și nu se acordă perioadă de grație de la

perceperea de dobanda)

mod de funcționare: ciclu de tranzacționare (aproximativ 30 de zile în care efectuezi

cumpărăturile), urmate de o perioadă de grație (până la aproximativ 30 de zile, în

care să rambursezi suma cheltuită sau suma minimă de rambursat)

eficient în cazul rambursării integrale a sumei împrumutate în cursul fiecărui ciclu de

finanțare până la scadența lunară (dobândă 0%);

chiar și în cazul nerambursării integrale, necesită rambursarea lunară a unui procent

a sumei împrumutate (în general, cel puțin 2,5% din suma împrumutată);

atenție! în cazul nerambursării integrale până la scadență, dobânda este mai mare

decât cea în cazul unui credit de nevoi personale (află de la început DAE aplicabil,

cât și celelalte taxe și comisioane aplicabile);

în cele mai multe cazuri, prezintă beneficii suplimentare (asigurări de călătorie,

reduceri la diferiți comercianți, programe de recompense);

unii finanțatori oferă opțiunea mai multor rate fixe fără dobândă.

-credite pentru nevoi personale fără ipotecă

util pentru cheltuieli mai consistente ce se pot rambursa pe o perioadă de timp mai

îndelungată (până la 5 ani)

se achită în rate lunare

dobânda este, în general, mai avantajoasă decât în cazul unui card de credit sau în

cazul unui descoperit de cont.

-credite pentru nevoi personale cu ipotecă

util în cazul în care vrei să împrumuți o sumă mai mare, pe care să o rambursezi pe o

perioadă de timp mai îndelungată (până la 5 ani)

se achită în rate lunare

se garantează și cu ipoteca constituită în favoarea Băncii asupra unuia sau mai

multor imobile aflate în proprietatea ta sau a unor terți.

dobânda este, în general, mai avantajoasă decât în cazul unui credit pentru nevoie

personale fără ipotecă.

2b. credite pentru nevoi personale specifice/nominalizate: credite acordate

pentru scopuri specifice, a căror utilizare se face pe baza documentelor

justificative (facturi etc.), de obicei prin plata direct către furnizor. În unele

cazuri, necesită ipotecarea bunurilor mobile achiziționate (exemplu: creditele

pentru achiziție autoturisme).

-credite pentru studii;

-credite pentru scopuri medicale;

-credite pentru achiziție autoturisme;

-credite pentru achiziționare sisteme de încălzire;

-creditele garantate pe întreaga perioadă de derulare, cu garanție de tip depozit

colateral; creditele care se rambursează din subvenții,etc.

O altă categorie de credite sunt creditele acordate pentru refinanțarea unor facilități

contractate anterior, pe care le vom discuta într-un material dedicat.

Pasul 2. Ce sumă aș putea împrumuta?

Chiar independent de decizia de a solicita un credit, e important ca fiecare dintre noi

să autoevaluăm periodic cu sinceritate nivelul veniturilor și cheltuielilor, pentru a

identifica posibilitatea reducerii cheltuielilor și de a economisi din timp pentru

evenimente neprevăzute sau pentru etapa pensionării. Cu atât mai mult, înainte de a

solicita un credit, îți recomandăm să determini realist posibilitatea de a achita lunar

obligația de plată suplimentară.

Desigur, la momentul prezentării la Bancă, suma maximă pe care o poți achita lunar

va fi determinată de reprezentantul bancar, pe baza informațiilor și documentelor pe

care le furnizezi și a normelor de creditare proprii, cu respectarea legislației în

vigoare.

Pasul 3. Cum decid care produs din piață este cel mai avantajos pentru mine?

Precum în cazul oricărei achiziții, este foarte important să fii bine informat(ă).

Consultă cu atenție ofertele cât mai multor finanțatori, pentru a o identifica pe cea

mai potrivită pentru tine.

Când compari costurile, e indicat să ai în vedere compararea DAE (Dobânzii Anuale

Efective). DAE reprezintă costul total al creditului calculat sub forma unui procent

anual în care sunt incluse atât dobânda, cât și comisioanele aferente acestuia

(respectiv, comisionul de analiză și comisionul de administrare credit). Pentru a

corela corect DAE în compararea creditelor, este foarte important ca acest indicator

să fie calculat pentru aceeași sumă împrumutată și același termen de rambursare și

aceeași modalitate de rambursare la nivelul tuturor ofertelor comparate. Pentru a fi

sigur(ă) că obții o comparație relevantă, utilizează un calculator DAE pus la dispoziție

de pagini de internet independente de comparație sau chiar pe paginile de internet

ale băncilor, în care introduci pentru fiecare produs toate costurile identificate și

determini valoarea DAE aferentă sumei și perioadei de finanțare dorite. Pentru un

credit de 150.000 lei pe o perioada de 30 de ani, o diferență de DAE de doar 0,1%

(de la 4% la 4,1%) poate crește suma pe care trebuie să o rambursezi pe toată

perioada de creditare cu peste 3.000 lei.

Tipurile de costuri incluse în DAE pe care un finanțator le poate percepe, în

conformitate cu prevederile OUG 50/2010:

dobânda;

comision de analiza dosar;

comision de administrare credit sau comision de administrare cont curent.

În situația în care banca nu cunoaște anumite costuri care sunt percepute de către

terți, acestea nu intră în calculul DAE, însă și acestea trebuie avute în vedere

(costurile legate de asigurări sau garanții):

costuri pentru evaluarea/verificarea rapoartelor de evaluare a bunurilor

imobile/mobile admise în garanție;

primele de asigurare aferente polițelor de asigurare;

costurile notariale etc

De asemenea, în cazul în care decizi să rambursezi anticipat un credit cu dobândă

fixă, Banca poate solicita plata unui comision de rambursare anticipată. Banca poate

percepe și un comision unic pentru servicii prestate la cererea ta în legatură cu

derularea creditului (acesta nu este inclus în DAE, întrucât se percepe numai daca

soliciți anumite servicii în mod expres pe parcursul derulării creditului).

Ia în considerare și ceilalți factori (termenul de acordare, garanțiile solicitate,

perioada de grație, veniturile acceptate etc.).

Consultă informațiile disponibile pe paginile de internet ale băncilor și solicită

informațiile necesare prin Call Center-ul fiecărei instituții sau printr-o vizită la sediile

acestora. Pe baza informațiilor furnizate de tine, Banca poate efectua o pre-analiză și

poți afla cu titlu orientativ valoarea creditului pe care îl poți accesa, perioada de

finanțare și nivelul ratei lunare.

Ca element suplimentar, din ce în ce mai multe bănci oferă costuri mai avantajoase

clienților care încasează venituri în conturi deschise la respectiva instituție de credit,

deci și acesta este un factor pe care îl poți lua în considerare.

Pasul 4. Ce documente trebuie să prezint Băncii?

Pe baza informațiilor primite la pasul anterior, poți să identifici unul sau mai mulți

finanțatori cu care dorești să continui procesul de creditare, cărora să te adresezi cu

o documentație completă, în vederea primirii unei oferte ferme.

In general, documentația solicitată de Bănci cuprinde, dar fără a se limita la acestea:

actul de identitate în original, o copie a acestuia fiind depusă la Bancă;

un document (factura de utilități sau un alt document) din care să rezulte domiciliul

înscris în actul tău de identitate sau reședința;

adeverința de salariu tip furnizată de Bancă, emisă și completată corect de

Angajatorul tău (și al celorlalți codebitori, daca este cazul), nu mai veche de 30 de

zile (în funcție de creditul solicitat și de politica fiecărui finanțator, se pot solicita și

copii ale contractelor individuale de muncă înregistrate la Inspectoratul Teritorial de

Muncă, document justificativ al veniturilor încasate în anul anterior sau alte

documente care certifică nivelul veniturilor tale și consecvența în timp a acestora, în

special dacă venitul tău înregistrează fluctuații).

Adițional, în cazul creditelor cu garanții imobiliare:

acte de proprietate asupra bunurilor aduse în garanție și extrasul din Cartea Funciară

în termen de valabilitate aferente bunului adus în garanție.

Pe lângă aceste documente, vei completa și semna:

cererea de credit;

acordul de consultare la Centrala Riscului de Credit și de transmitere, prelucrare și

consultare a informațiilor de risc la Biroul de Credit.

În funcție de reglementările interne ale fiecărui finanțator și de tipul creditului solicitat,

pot fi solicitate și alte documente sau unele dintre cele de mai sus pot să nu fie

solicitate. De aceea, îți recomandăm o discuție cu un reprezentant al Băncii pentru

lista completă a documentației.

Pasul 5. Când primesc un răspuns și care sunt pașii următori?

Pe baza documentelor solicitate și depuse, Banca determină, în cel mult 30 de zile,

eligibilitatea ta pentru un credit și îți poate furniza o ofertă de credit. Vei primi din

partea Băncii formularul Informații standard la nivel european privind creditul pentru

consumatori. Acest formular conține toate informațiile necesare pentru o decizie bine

informată și este foarte important să îl parcurgi cu atenție. In cazul în care ai

neclarități, solicită informații suplimentare.

Odată ce ai decis să accepți oferta unei Bănci, aceasta va fi formalizată printr-un

contract de credit, alături de contracte accesorii pentru ipoteci (dacă este cazul).

Contractul de credit va guverna relația contractuală până la rambursarea integrală a

creditului, deci parcurge-l cu atenție și semnează-l doar odata ce ai certitudinea că ai

înteles clauzele incluse în acesta, în special cele care vizează costurile și obligațiile.

Vei primi și graficul de rambursare al creditului (în cazul creditelor cu rambursare în

rate). Pastrează-l și asigură-te că plătești la termen fiecare rată. In cazul creditelor cu

dobândă variabilă, valoarea dobânzii poate varia în funcție de indicele de referință în

maniera precizată în contractul de credit, așa încât urmărește evoluția acestuia astfel

încât să știi în orice moment valoarea actualizată a ratei lunare în funcție de valoarea

acestui indice, conform contractului semnat. Oricum, banca te va informa la

momentul în care dobânda se va modifica.

Ce este un card și ce tipuri de carduri există?

Cardul este un instrument modern de plată, materializat în principal sub forma unui

«dreptunghi de plastic » dar care a început să fie produs și sub forme din ce în ce

mai avangardiste: ceas, breloc, SIM pentru telefon, etc. Din punct de vedere al

fondurilor utilizate, cardurile se împart în trei categorii:

carduri de debit, unde fondurile sunt ale posesorului acestuia

carduri de debit cu overdraft (sau descoperit de cont), unde fondurile sunt ale

posesorului dar există și o limită de creditare pusă la dispoziție de bancă

carduri de credit, unde fondurile sunt puse la dispoziție de către bancă

Atenție la modalitățile de fraudă!

Comunitatea bancară îți recomandă să fii vigilent la modalitățile de fraudă care pot

afecta posesorii de carduri și să urmezi sfaturile noastre pentru a preveni situațiile

neplăcute.

În unele situații, clienți ai băncilor posesori de carduri sunt sunați de către persoane

care pretind a fi de la diverse instituții (Brigada Antifraudă, ANAF, DIICOT, DNA).

Clienților le sunt solicitate informații despre carduri: numărul de card, data expirării,

codul de securitate, etc. Ulterior sunt efectuate tranzacții pe Internet, utilizând

informațiile obținute prin telefon.

Care sunt elementele importante ale unui card?

numărul cardului (evidențiat pe fața cardului);

data de expirare (evidențiată pe fața cardului)

PIN-ul (cod secret, comunicat de bancă, necesar în validarea operațiunilor care

necesită o astfel de validare);

codul de securitate (trei cifre evidențiate pe verso card, utilizat în efectuarea anumitor

operațiuni fără prezența cardului, cum ar fi rezervările la hotel, etc);

parola 3D Secure (parola cunoscută numai de către posesor pentru efectuarea

operațiunilor pe internet în maximă siguranță)

Ce putem face cu un card?

retrageri numerar (de la ATM-uri sau de la ghișeele băncilor);

plăți la comercianți, inclusiv la cei on-line;

plăți facturi pentru orice fel de utilități;

interogare sold;

schimbare cod PIN;

miniextras cont;

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plata rate credit;

alimentare cu numerar a contului;

transferuri între conturi.

Avantajele utilizării unui card

acces 24/24 la disponibilități

siguranța în utilizare

costuri reduse pentru plăți la comercianți

posibilitatea utilizării atât în țara cât și în străinătate

evidența facilă a operațiunilor efectuate

Ce trebuie să știm despre siguranța cardului?

datele confidențiale (PIN, parola 3D, etc) nu trebuie comunicate nimănui;

extrasul de cont trebuie verificat periodic, iar dacă sunt identificate operațiuni

nerecunoscute, trebuie anunțată de urgență banca în vederea blocării cardului și

efectuării unor demersuri specifice;

cardul nu trebuie instrăinat nimănui, nici chiar membrilor familiei. În cazul în care

posesorul cardului dorește să acorde acces la cont unui alte persoane poate solicita

emiterea unui card de utilizator autorizat (card suplimentar);

Ce informații importante ar trebui cunoscute?

plătește cu cardul la comercianți pentru eficiența costurilor

dacă ai nevoie să retragi bani, din punct de vedere al costurilor cel mai indicat este

să utilizezi ATM-urile băncii care a emis cardul

în cazul în care posesorul cardului se află în strainătate și cardul i-a fost furat sau l-a

pierdut, poate apela la serviciile de urgență oferite de către organizațiile de carduri și

anume: eliberare card în regim de urgență sau eliberare numerar în regim de urgență

- în anumite condiții

băncile dispun de un Call Center cu program 24/24 care poate fi apelat în cazul în

care sunt întâmpinate probleme la utilizarea cardurilor

banca setează limite de utilizare a cardurilor pe care clienții trebuie să le cunoască la

achiziția unui card

pentru unele tranzacții nu este nevoie de validare cu cod PIN (tranzacții contactless).

Câteva sfaturi adresate posesorilor de carduri:





1. Să nu ofere informații despre carduri, precum numărul cardului, data expirării,

codul din 3 cifre de securitate aflat pe spatele cardului - CVV2/CVC2 prin intermediul

telefonului – Banca / Poliția / Procuratura nu cer niciodată astfel de informații prin

telefon;

2. Să ia toate măsurile necesare şi suficiente pentru a menţine confidentialitatea PIN-

ului, codului CVV2/CVC2 şi a parolei 3D-Secure şi să protejeze integritatea acestora

prin:

să nu dezvăluie, direct sau indirect, PIN-ul, codul CVV2/CVC2 şi parola 3D-Secure

altor persoane;

să nu împrumute cardul altor persoane;

să se asigure că în timpul tranzacţiilor bancare cardul rămâne sub atenta sa

supraveghere;

să distrugă plicul cu codul PIN primit de la banca emitentă a cardului, după ce a

memorat PIN-ul;

să nu înscrie niciodată PIN-ul pe card;

să nu dezvăluie niciodată PIN-ul altor persoane, chiar dacă acestea sunt sau se

prezintă drept angajaţi ai băncii;

să nu tasteze PIN-ul pe site-uri de Internet;

să se asigure că în timpul tranzacţiilor bancare efectuate cu folosirea PIN-ului, acesta

nu este dezvăluit (voluntar sau involuntar) altor persoane.

3. Pentru asigurarea securităţii tranzacţiilor efecuate prin Internet, sfătuim clientii a

înrola cardul în serviciul 3D Secure. Înrolarea în acest serviciu oferă o siguranţă

sporită în efectuarea tranzacţiilor prin Internet.

Daca există clienți care au fost victime ale unui astfel de fraude, aceștia trebuie să

raporteze evenimentul imediat la 112, precum și la banca emitentă a cardul

DICȚIONAR DE TERMENI

A

ATM Automat bancar utilizat de către consumatori, prin intermediul unui

A

card, pentru diverse operaţiuni (retragere de numerar, efectuare plăţi, informare privind situaţia contului, schimbare cod PIN, etc.);

B

Bancă Instituţie financiară a cărei activitate constă în principal în atragerea de depozite sau de alte fonduri de la public, acordarea de credite, servicii de plăţi, emiterea de garanţii şi asumarea de angajamente, tranzacţionarea în cont propriu şi/sau pe cont propriu în condiţiile legii, emitere şi administrare mijloace de plată etc. conform autorizaţiei acordate acesteia de catre Banca Naţională a României;

Biroul de Credit

Instituţie care colectează, prelucrează şi furnizează informaţii băncilor şi societăţilor financiare referitoare la comportamentul de plată al consumatorilor care beneficiază sau au beneficiat de credite;

C

Comision Remuneraţie (procentuală sau fixă) percepută de bancă pentru serviciile prestate;

Credit Operaţiune reglementată printr-un contract prin care banca pune la dispoziţia consumatorului o anumită sumă de bani în schimbul unui preţ (dobânda), cu plata anumitor costuri menţionate în contract;

Cont curent Cont prin intermediul căruia se pot face operaţiuni curente de încasări și plăţi;

Cont de economii

Produs de economisire, remunerat cu o dobândă, care oferă posibilitatea de a retrage sau depune numerar în orice moment şi care se constituie pe o perioadă nedeterminată;

Card de debit Instrument de plată ce permite posesorului un mijloc de acces la disponibilităţile din contul ataşat cardului;

Card de credit

Instrument de plată ce permite posesorului să utilizeze linia de credit aprobată de bancă în limita unui plafon stabilit;

Credit pentru investiţii imobiliare

Credit garantat cu ipotecă imobiliară, acordat în scopul dobândirii ori menţinerii drepturilor de proprietate asupra unui imobil sau în scopul reabilitării, modernizării, consolidării ori extinderii unei construcţii sau pentru viabilizarea unui teren sau în scopul refinanţării unui astfel de credit;

Credit de Orice alt credit în afara creditului pentru investiţii imobiliare

A

consum (exemple: credite de nevoi personale, auto, studii, servicii medicale, etc); poate fi garantat sau negarantat;

Costul total al creditului

Toate costurile, inclusiv dobânda, comisioanele, taxele şi orice alt tip de costuri pe care trebuie să le suporte consumatorul în legătură cu contractul de credit şi care sunt cunoscute de către bancă, cu excepţia taxelor notariale; costurile pentru serviciile accesorii aferente contractului de credit, în special primele de asigurare, sunt incluse dacă încheierea contractului de servicii este obligatorie pentru obţinerea creditului însuşi sau pentru obţinerea acestuia, în concordanţă cu clauzele şi condiţiile prezentate;

Codebitor (coplătitor)

Persoana care participă sau nu cu venitul net la stabilirea venitului total net luat în considerare pentru acordarea unui credit şi care se obligă împreună cu debitorul principal la plata tuturor obligaţiilor derivate din contract;

Centrala Riscului de Credit (CRC)

Instituţie specializată în colectarea, stocarea şi centralizarea informaţiilor privind expunerea fiecărei persoane declarante, comportamentul de plată al consumatorilor care beneficiază sau au beneficiat de credite, precum şi a informaţiilor referitoare la fraudele cu carduri produse de către posesori;

Contract cadru

Contract de servicii de plată în baza căruia se vor executa în viitor operaţiuni de plată;

Consumator Persoana fizică ce acţionează în scopuri care se află în afara activităţii sale comerciale sau profesionale;

D

Dobanda anuală efectivă (DAE)

Costul total al creditului pentru consumator, exprimat ca procent anual din valoarea totală a creditului, ce include costurile suportate de consumator în cazul contractării unui credit (dobânda şi comisioane). Dobânda anuală servește ca termen de comparaţie între diversele oferte de credit existente pe piaţă;

Debitor (împrumutat)

Persoana care contractează un credit în nume propriu, participă cu venitul net la stabilirea venitului total net luat în considerare pentru acordarea unui credit şi care se obligă la îndeplinirea tuturor obligaţiilor derivate din contract;

Debitare directă

Serviciu ce presupune plata automată a anumitor sume dintr-un cont curent conform unui acord prealabil încheiat între consumator şi bancă (exemplu: plăţi facturi utilităţi, plăţi prime de asigurare, etc)

A

;

Depozit bancar

Sumă de bani depusă în cont bancar pe o perioadă prestabilită remunerată cu dobânda;

Descoperit de cont (Overdraft)

Facilitate de creditare acordată consumatorilor care constă în posibilitatea retragerii din cont a unei sume mai mari decât cea existentă, în limita unui plafon stabilit;

Dobânda Suma de bani pe care consumatorul o încasează în cazul unor produse de economisire/de cont curent sau pe care o plăteşte în cazul unui contract de credit, reprezentând preţul banilor;

Dobânda penalizatoare

Document care prezintă operaţiunile efectuate într-un cont, într-o anumită perioadă;

E

Extras de cont

Document care prezintă operaţiunile efectuate într-un cont, într-o anumită perioadă;

EURIBOR Indice de referinţă verificabil, ce reprezintă ratele de dobânzi pentru împrumuturile în EURO la care băncile participante în zona monetară UE îşi acordă reciproc împrumuturi;

G

Garant/Girant Proprietarul imobilului adus în garanţie sau persoana care garantează creditul, cu veniturile pe care le încasează sau cu alte bunuri;

Grad de îndatorare

Raportul dintre totalul ratelor lunare aferente creditelor contractate şi venitul disponibil, exprimat sub forma procentuală;

Grafic de rambursare

Situaţia ratelor datorate, a termenelor şi a condiţiilor de plată aferente, precum şi a rambursării valorii totale a creditului, a plăţii dobânzilor şi a eventualelor costuri suplimentare;

I

Ipotecă Garanţie reală ce serveşte la garantarea obligaţiilor consumatorului faţă de banca printr-un bun mobil sau imobil, proprietatea garantului;

IBAN Cod unic utilizat pe plan internaţional pentru a identifica contul unui consumator deschis la bancă;

A

Internet banking

Serviciu bazat pe tehnologia Internet care permite consumatorului accesul de la distanţă pentru realizarea de operaţiuni bancare;

L

LIBOR Indice de referinţă verificabil, ce reprezintă ratele de dobânzi pentru împrumuturile acordate băncilor pe piaţa londoneză, utilizat în principal pentru creditele în USD, CHF;

M

Marja băncii Parte componentă a dobânzii, ce se stabileşte în valoare procentuală fixă pe toată perioada derulării contractului;

O

Ordin de plată

Dispoziţie de plată folosită de consumator pentru transferul unei sume de bani către un beneficiar;

P

PIN – Personal Identification Number

Cod personal de identificare al posesorului de card;

POS Dispozitiv ce permite, prin mijloace electronice, preluarea, stocarea şi transmiterea de informaţii privind plata prin card;

Plafon de garantare a depozitelor la bănci

Nivel maxim garantat de stat per deponent garantat şi per bancă. În prezent, acesta este de 100.000 de euro în echivalent lei;

R

Rambursare Orice plată efectuată în vederea restituirii creditului;

Rata dobânzii variabile la credite

Rata anuală a dobânzii exprimată procentual, compusă din indicele de referinţă de tipul ROBOR/EURIBOR/LIBOR şi marja fixă a băncii;

Rata dobanzii fixe la credite

Rata dobânzii ce rămâne nemodificată pe perioada creditului sau pe anumite intervale de timp determinate conform contractului;

Rata dobânzii Rata dobânzii utilizată pentru principalele operaţiuni de piaţă

A

de referinţă a BNR

monetară ale BNR;

ROBOR Indice de referinţă verificabil reprezentând rata medie a dobânzii pentru creditele în lei acordate pe piaţa interbancară naţională;

S

Scadenţa Data la care consumatorul sau banca trebuie să-şi respecte obligaţia de plata conform contractului;

V

Valoarea totală plătibilă de către consumator

Suma compusă din valoarea totală a creditului şi costul total al creditului;

Valoarea totală a creditului

Sumele totale puse la dispoziţie consumatorului în baza unui contract de credit.

DREPTURILE SI OBLIGATIILE CONSUMATORULUI

OBLIGAŢIILE CONSUMATORULUI CONFORM LEGISLAŢIEI ÎN VIGOARE

de a se informa cu privire la toate caracteristicile unui produs financiar înainte de a

lua decizia de contractare;

de a notifica banca imediat ce au survenit modificări cu privire la adresă, locul de

muncă, veniturile titularului de contract/codebitor/garant;

de a comunica imediat băncii opţiunea sa de acceptare sau de neacceptare a noilor

condiţii, în cazul modificărilor contractuale propuse de bancă;

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http://www.educatiefinanciara.info/all-project-list/obligatiile-tale/#collapse39

de a sesiza banca în legătură cu nemulţumirile apărute pe perioada derulării

contractului, înainte de a se adresa instituţiilor competente să rezolve respectivele

litigii;

de a rambursa ratele sale lunare, inclusiv comisioanele, conform prevederilor

contractuale;

de a utiliza creditul în scopul pentru care a fost solicitat;

de a pune la dispoziţia băncii toate documentele şi informaţiile solicitate, necesare

pentru acordarea/derularea creditului solicitat;

de a pastra integritatea garanţiilor constituite la garantarea creditului pe toată

perioada de valabilitate a contractului de credit;

de a lua toate măsurile rezonabile pentru protejarea împotriva furtului/pierderii/folosirii

neautorizate a cardului/cardului de credit;

de a lua toate măsurile rezonabile pentru a păstra elementele de securitate

personalizate ale instrumentelor de plată în siguranţă;

de a notifica banca cu privire la exercitarea dreptului de retragere din contractul de

credit şi de a plăti băncii creditul sau partea de credit trasă şi dobânda aferentă de la

data la care creditul sau partea respectivă din credit a fost trasă până la data la care

creditul sau partea respectivă din credit a fost rambursată;

de a nu contramanda un ordin pe care l-a dat prin intermediul instrumentului de plată

electronic, decât în anumite situaţii determinate, conform prevederilor contractuale;

de a anunţa banca în legatură cu orice eroare sau neregulă apărută în urma

gestionării contului/ conturilor sale;

de a încheia, în cazul ipotecării unei construcţii, un contract de asigurare acoperind

toate riscurile aferente acesteia; contractul de asigurare va fi încheiat şi reînnoit astfel

încât să acopere întreaga durată de valabilitate a creditului.

de a semnala fără întârziere nejustificată prestatorului său de servicii de plată, dar nu

mai târziu de 13 luni de la data debitării, faptul că a constatat o operaţiune de plată

neautorizată sau executată incorect, care dă naştere unei plângeri.

DREPTURILE CONSUMATORILOR CONFORM LEGISLAŢIEI ÎN VIGOARE

A. Drepturi generale

de a fi informat complet, corect şi precis asupra caracteristicilor esenţiale ale

produselor şi serviciilor oferite de bănci şi asupra tuturor condiţiilor contractuale;

de a primi un exemplar al contractului încheiat cu banca, contract care să cuprindă

toate costurile aferente produsului achiziţionat, inclusiv costurile aferente contului

curent ataşat contului de depozit, în cazul contractelor de depozite;

de a beneficia de o redactare clară şi precisă a clauzelor contractuale, indicarea

preţurilor şi tarifelor şi, după caz, a condiţiilor de garanţie;

de a obţine extras de cont, conform prevederilor contractuale;

de a fi exoneraţi de plata produselor şi serviciilor pe care nu le-au solicitat;

de a sesiza asociaţiile pentru protecţia consumatorilor şi organele administraţiei

publice asupra eventualelor încălcări ale drepturilor şi intereselor lui legitime;

de a avea garantate depozitele deţinute la instituţiile de credit participante la Fondul

de Garantare a Depozitelor în Sistemul Bancar, în condiţiile şi în limita maximă

stabilită prin lege;

de a nu i se modifica unilateral clauzele contractuale fără încheierea unui act

adiţional (cu excepţia serviciilor de plăţi);

de a sesiza ANPC, de a apela la instanţă sau de a recurge la proceduri extrajudiciare

pentru a soluţiona eventualele diferende;

B. Drepturi aferente produselor de creditare

de a primi, în prealabil, la solicitarea unei oferte de credit:

informaţiile standard la nivel european (informaţii precontractuale asupra condiţiilor

de creditare),

la cerere şi gratuit un exemplar al proiectului contractului de credit,

un grafic de rambursare ori alt document care să menţioneze costurile totale ce vor fi

suportate de consumator, pe hârtie sau pe alt suport durabil;

de a fi informat prin formularul Informaţiile standard la nivel european despre:

identitatea şi datele de contact ale băncii/ intermediarului de credit;

descrierea principalelor caracteristici ale produselor de creditare, costurile creditului,

alte costuri, alte aspecte juridice importante şi, informaţii suplimentare cu referire la

serviciile la distanţă;

de a opta pentru rambursarea creditului în rate egale (anuităţi) sau rate

descrescătoare;

de a rambursa anticipat creditul, integral sau parţial, în orice moment, fără ca în cazul

creditelor cu dobândă variabilă să îi fie perceput vreun comision;

de a primi un răspuns din partea băncii la sesizările depuse în termen de maxim 30

de zile de la înregistrarea acestora;

de a primi în mod gratuit, la încetarea contractului de credit, un document care fie

atestă faptul că au fost stinse toate obligaţiile dintre părţi decurgând din contractul

respectiv, fie indică obligaţiile contractuale neîndeplinite;

de a fi informat imediat şi în mod gratuit, în scris sau la solicitarea expresă a

acestuia, în forma aleasă de acesta şi agreată de bancă, în cazul în care respingerea

cererii de creditare se bazează pe consultarea unei baze de date, în legătură cu

rezultatul acestei consultări şi cu identitatea bazei de date consultate;

de a se retrage din contractul de credit, fără a invoca motive, într-un termen de 14

zile de la încheierea contractului;

de a îşi exprima acordul în scris, la data depunerii cererii de credit, cu privire la

transmiterea datelor sale către sistemele de evidenţă de tipul birourilor de credit;

de a solicita înlocuirea garanţiei imobiliare iniţiale cu altă garanţie;

de a i se aplica, în cazul în care înregistrează restanţe, o rată a dobânzii

penalizatoare ce nu poate depăşi cu mai mult de 2 puncte procentuale rata dobânzii

aplicabilă atunci când creditul nu înregistrează restanţă şi de la momentul prezentării

documentelor doveditoare, în cazul în care consumatorul sau soţul/soţia se

regaseşte într-una din următoarele situaţii: somaj, reducerea cu minim 15% a

salariului, deces;

de a primi o propunere de reeşalonare/refinanţare a creditului în cazul imposibilităţii

acestuia de a accepta majorarea dobânzii;

de a i se răspunde în scris sau, la solicitarea consumatorului, în altă formă, cu privire

la acordarea sau neacordarea creditului, în termen de 30 de zile de la depunerea

dosarului de credit, dar nu mai mult de 60 de zile de la depunerea cererii de solicitare

a creditului;

de a fi informat cu privire la cesiunea drepturilor creditorului în temeiul unui contract

de credit către un terţ si de a invoca împotriva cesionarului orice mijloc de apărare la

care putea recurge împotriva creditorului iniţial, inclusiv dreptul la compensare în

cazurile în care drepturile creditorului în temeiul unui contract de credit se cesionează

unui terţ.

C. Drepturi aferente serviciilor de plată

de a primi o descriere a condiţiilor de efectuare a operaţiunilor de plată sau un

exemplar al propunerii de contract cadru care să cuprindă informaţiile necesare, cu

minim 15 zile înainte de data la care devine parte în contract sau oferta, perioada ce

se poate reduce cu acordul său expres;

de a fi informat despre modificarea clauzelor contractului cadru, cu două luni înainte

de data propusă pentru aplicarea acestora (neprimirea unui răspuns este considerată

acceptare tacită) ;

de a opta pentru încetarea contractului cadru referitor la serviciile de plată, oricând,

dacă în cadrul acestuia s-a convenit o perioadă de notificare care să nu depăşească

30 zile;

de a denunţa unilateral contractul cadru referitor la serviciile de plată, încheiat pe o

durată determinată mai mare de 12 luni sau pe o durată nedeterminată după

expirarea a 12 luni, în mod gratuit;

D. Drepturi aferente legislaţiei privind prelucrarea datelor personale

de a fi informat, de a avea acces la datele cu caracter personal, de intervenţie asupra

acestora, de opoziţie de a nu fi supus unei decizii individuale, de a se adresa justiţiei

sau Autorităţii Naţionale de Supraveghere a Prelucrării Datelor cu Caracter Personal;

de a fi înştiinţat cu 15 zile în prealabil, în scris, telefonic, prin SMS sau e-mail cu

privire la întârzierea la plată şi transmiterea datelor negative către sistemele de

evidenţă de tipul birourilor de credit;

de a fi notificaţi în prealabil în scris cu privire la transmiterea datelor pozitive,

referitoare la inadvertenţe şi la fraude către sistemele de evidenţă de tipul birourilor

de credit;

de a-şi modifica opţiunea de acord pentru prelucrarea datelor cu caracter personal

prin înregistrarea la operator a unei cereri în scris în acest sens.

E. Alte drepturi conferite de reglementările specifice emise de BNR:

de a i se păstra confidenţialitatea asupra faptelor, datelor, informaţiilor referitoare la

activitatea desfaşurată inclusiv informaţii referitoare la conturile sau la contractele

acestuia, aflate la dispoziţia băncii, cu excepţia cazurilor prevăzute de lege;

F. *valabil numai pentru băncile care încheie contracte de economisire - creditare Drepturi aferente încheierii contractelor de economisire şi creditare în domeniul locativ:

de a beneficia de o primă de stat pentru depunerile anuale efectuate în baza unui

contract de economisire - creditare încheiat cu o bancă de economisire şi creditare în

domeniul locativ.

CUM SĂ-MI GESTIONEZ BUGETUL

Unii dintre noi sunt studenți, matematicieni, unii construiesc clădiri, alții le echipează,

medicii ne tratează. Avem specializări diferite, dar cu toții avem ceva în comun.

Suntem proprii manageri ai bugetului nostru. Educația financiară este o necesitate,

chiar dacă alegi să utilizezi sau nu produse și servicii bancare.

Dacă cheltuiești tot ce câștigi, un buget personal te va ajuta să observi cum ai putea

să reduci din cheltuieli sau chiar să economisești. Trece pe o hârtie într-o parte

veniturile și în cealaltă parte toate cheltuielile efectuate în ultima lună sau în ultimele

două luni. Acest pas te va ajuta să înțelegi pe ce se duc banii și să stabilești cum să-

ți gestionezi cheltuielile.

Împarte cheltuielile tale în trei categorii:

cheltuieli fixe care trebuie plătite pentru a evita penalizările și aici incluzi rata la credit,

întreținerea, lumina, telefonul, cablul, etc

cheltuieli flexibile și aici intră bugetul pentru mâncare, mesele cu prietenii, hainele,

produsele pentru uzul personal, vacanțele, etc

cheltuielile cu impozitul la casă, cu asigurările la casă și mașină. Acestea trebuie

plătite de regulă anual sau trimestrial, dar trebuie incluse în buget.

Ce te sfătuim?

Ca să economisești bani pentru plata anticipată a creditului sau pentru o mașină

nouă, rezistă tentației de a cumpăra lucruri care nu-ți folosesc!

Dacă primești bonusuri pune din bani deoparte.

Verifică câți bani mai ai disponibili în numerar sau soldul contului tău prin ATM sau

internet banking.

Mai bine depune banii într-un depozit! Reziști tentației de a cheltui și îi protejezi și de

evenimente neplăcute. Depozitele și certificatele de depozit sunt garantate de Fondul

de Garantare a Depozitelor în Sistemul Bancar până la 100.000 de euro, echivalent

în lei, pentru fiecare deponent garantat per bancă.

Înainte să decizi plata în avans a creditului solicită băncii un calcul al sumei totale de

plată, inclusiv a costurilor aferente acestei operațiuni.

Dacă vrei un împrumut, analizează-ți situația financiară să vezi dacă îți poți permite

un credit și până la ce valoare

Citește cu atenție în contractul de credit termenii și condițiile de acordare a

împrumutului. Este obligația ta să citești contractul înainte să-l semnezi. În momentul

în care l-ai semnat ești responsabil de obligațiile din contract!

Poți avea acces la un credit, dar trebuie să ai în vedere riscurile! Dacă creditul este

cu dobândă variabilă există riscul de dobândă, iar dacă este în euro, dolari sau fraci

elvețieni și tu ești plătit în lei atunci există și riscul valutar. Când faci bugetul ia în

calcul că rata ta poate să crească.

Dacă ai luat credit când indicii Euribor sau Robor din contractul tău cu dobândă

variabilă erau la minim istoric, atunci așteaptă-te ca rata să-ți crească dacă aceștia

evoluează în creștere

Dacă ai o indisponibilitate financiară, adresează-te imediat băncii pentru a căuta

soluții

Renunță într-o măsură cât mai mare la plățile în numerar și utilizează mijloacele

moderne de plată

Plătește cu cardul la comercianți, este în avantajul bugetului tău

Dacă ai nevoie să retragi bani, din punct de vedere al costurilor cel mai indicat este

să utilizezi ATM-urile băncii care a emis cardul

Află avantajele și evită toate riscurile documentându-te!

RISCUL UNUI CREDIT

Derularea unui credit si riscurile

Ce se întamplă după contractarea unui credit?

Odată semnată documentația contractuală și prezentate documentele justificative (

dacă este cazul), poți utiliza finanțarea obținută în vederea realizării proiectelor

personale. În cazul în care nu utilizezi imediat creditul, verifică să nu depășești data

maximă de utilizare/tragere a acestuia.

Important! Contractul de credit și cel de asigurare sunt documente foarte importante.

Este esențial să le păstrezi cu grijă, să le pui într-un loc știut și să îți faci copii după

ele.

Totodată, acum începe și perioada de rambursare.

În cazul descoperitului de cont, el se acoperă automat prin încasarea drepturilor

salariale/ de pensii în contul de salariu. În cazul în care ai împrumutat peste nivelul

salariului tău, încearcă să identifici modalități de a reduce cheltuielile lunare, pentru a

diminua treptat nivelul descoperitului de cont.

În cazul cardurilor de credit, este recomandat să plătești lunar suma consumată în

ciclul de tranzacționare precedent, pentru a nu plăti dobânda. Chiar dacă nu achiți

integral, urmărește să rambursezi cel puțin suma minimă de plată, pentru a nu ți se

aplica penalități.

În cazul creditelor cu rate, urmărește pe graficul de rambursare rata lunară de plată și

asigură-te că depui la timp suma necesară pentru acoperirea ratei de plată. În cazul

în care ai accesat un credit cu dobândă variabilă în funcție de un indice de referință

publică (EURIBOR/ROBOR/LIBOR) care se modifică la fiecare 3/6 luni, noua rată

lunară de plată o poți afla oricând de la reprezentanții Băncii (inclusiv prin Call Center

sau Internet Banking, în cazul unor finanțatori).

În cazul în care înregistrezi restanțe la creditul contractat, Banca te va notifica cu cel

puțin 15 zile înainte de transmiterea informațiilor privind restanța înregistrată la Biroul

de Credit. Atenție! Odată ce vei fi înregistrat(ă) la Biroul de Credit cu informații

negative, majoritatea finanțatorilor vor lua în considerare acest factor la analiza unor

viitoare solicitări de credit, reducându-ți șansele de a obține o nouă facilitate. Mai

mult, vei plăti penalizari și poți ajunge chiar în situația executării silite a bunurilor

mobile și imobile. Este important să achiți la timp obligațiile lunare de plată.

Pentru a primi notificarile transmise de Bancă pe parcursul duratei de finanțare,

asigură-te că declari adresa corectă și completă și numarul de telefon la Bancă, de

fiecare dată când intervin modificări.

Care sunt riscurile ce se pot materializa în decursul perioadei de finanțare?

Un credit poate fi acordat pe o durată de până la 35 de ani, o perioadă în care mulți

dintre factorii luați în considerare la momentul inițial pot suferi modificări, cu impact în

creșterea obligației lunare de plată, uneori chiar peste posibilitatea de rambursare.

De aceea, este important să iei în calcul aceste posibile fluctuații inainte de a decide

să soliciți un credit de valoare mare, a cărui rată lunară constituie o parte

semnificativă a veniturilor lunare.

Vom detalia în cele ce urmează principalele riscuri pe care este bine să le cunoști și

să le anticipezi pe durata unui credit:

Riscul de curs de schimb

Cursul de schimb reprezintă prețul la care o monedă se schimbă cu alta. Referindu-

ne la Romania, cursul de schimb al leului reprezintă prețul leului în raport cu alte

monede. Ca orice alt preț, cursul de schimb este determinat de raportul cerere-oferta,

fiind publicat zilnic de către Banca Națională a României. Pentru consultarea cursului

de schimb, se poate accesa pagina de Internet a Băncii Naționale a României,

www.bnro.ro.

În situația în care creditul este contractat în altă monedă decât cea în care se

realizează veniturile, apare riscul valutar. Concretizarea acestui risc va genera o

creștere a valorii ratei lunare și implicit a costului total al creditului, expunându-te

astfel la dificultăți în rambursarea ratelor lunare. Din acest motiv, este recomandată

contractarea creditelor în moneda în care realizezi veniturile.

Un element de asemenea important în decizia privind asumarea sau nu a riscului

valutar este reprezentat de durata pe care este acordat creditul. Evenimentele care

pot interveni asupra cursului de schimb valutar în cazul unui credit contractat pe o

durată de creditare mare (20 sau 30 de ani) sunt foarte diferite, fiind imposibil de

anticipat. Astfel, se poate aprecia că riscul valutar este proporțional cu durata de

creditare. Cu cât durata creditului este mai mare, cu atât necunoscutele ce pot

influența cursul de schimb cresc.

Riscul ratei de dobandă

Similar, în cazul creditelor cu dobândă variabilă, creșterea indicelui de dobândă

poate duce la creșterea ratei de plată. Să luăm exemplul indicelui ROBOR: acesta

reprezintă rata medie a dobânzii pentru creditele în lei acordate pe piață interbancară

și este publicat de Banca Națională a României. Indicii cei mai utilizați de bănci

pentru stabilirea nivelului dobânzilor variabile sunt ROBOR 3M și ROBOR 6M, cu

actualizare trimestrială/semestrială.

În funcție de diverși factori macroeconomici, aceștia pot varia considerabil. Cu unele

excepții, aceștia au înregistrat scăderi consecvente și consistente în ultimii ani, însă,

în mod similar, pe o durată de creditare mare (20 sau 30 de ani) acești indici pot

relua tendința de creștere, cu implicații directe în creșterea ratei creditului.

Riscul diminuării sau pierderii veniturilor

În special în cazul creditelor pe o durata mai mare, probabilitatea ca veniturile și

cheltuielile de la momentul solicitării creditului să rămână constante pe toată durata

creditului este redusă. Există posibilitatea ca, în timp, prin deprinderea de noi

cunoștințe și abilități, venitul tău să crescă, concomitent cu o mai bună gestiune a

cheltuielilor. Dar există și posibilitatea unor evenimente macroeconomice sau

individuale ce iți pot afecta temporar sau permanent veniturile. Sau poți fi confruntat

cu noi cheltuieli (de ex., un nou membru al familiei). Este important, pe cât posibil, să

prevezi astfel de evenimente și să discuți din timp cu finanțatorul pentru a găsi soluția

cea mai bună pentru situația ta specifică. Este, de asemenea, indicat să asiguri

împotriva unor posibile evenimente neprevăzute atât propria persoană

(accident/deces/șomaj), cât și bunurile achiziționate prin credit sau aduse în garanție,

astfel încat tu și cei dragi să nu fiți impactați suplimentar în cazul unui eveniment

nedorit.

Ce opțiuni am odată cu materializarea riscurilor?

În primul rând, adresează-te Băncii. Foarte probabil, nu ești primul(ă) și nici

singurul(ă) în această situație. Vei descoperi uneori că Banca deja a pregătit o

soluție pentru tine. În unele cazuri, analizând evoluția intrărilor și iesirilor de numerar

in conturile tale, Banca poate identifica inaintea ta unele semnale de alarma si te

poate contacta din timp pentru a identifica o soluție de diminuare a riscurilor. În

aceste cazuri, fii sincer și colaborează cu finanțatorul pentru a agrea împreună cea

mai bună soluție.

Printre posibilele soluții la care poți apela în aceste cazuri sunt:

perioada de grație la plata dobânzilor și/sau a capitalului, până când veniturile tale

revin la nivelul anterior;

prelungirea duratei creditului, cu reducerea obligației de plată ca urmare a distribuirii

ei pe o durată mai mare etc.

Interesează-te posibilitatea de a beneficia de asigurările atașate creditelor și de

riscurile acoperite. Exemplu: dacă, printr-o întamplare nedorită, te afli în șomaj,

verifică în contractul de credit dacă beneficiezi deja de o asigurare de șomaj, caz în

care asiguratorul poate plăti pentru o perioadă de timp rata lunară de plată, conform

clauzelor contractuale.

De asemenea, chiar până să ajungi la o situație de neplată, în cazul în care ai mai

multe credite, poâi analiza posibilitatea consolidării acestora, prin intermediul unui

credit de refinanțare. În acest fel, nu vei mai avea grija mai multor rate scadente și

date de maturitate. Un credit de refinanțare se justifică, însă, doar dacă obligația

lunară de plată și suma totală de rambursat sunt inferioare valorii cumulate a ratelor

curente, respectiv sumelor totale de rambursat pentru creditele deja accesate.

CONDITII GENERALE DE DERULARE A OPERATIUNILOR BANCARE

PENTRU PERSOANE JURIDICE SI ENTITATI FARA PERSONALITATE JURIDICA

–RAIFFEISEN BANK

CUPRINS: 1. Introducere; 2. Principii generale; 3. Conditii generale aplicabile conturilor;4.Dispozitii privind

operatiunile de plata; 5. Dispozitii privind utilizarea cardului de debit Visa Business si Serviciul 3D Secure; 6.

Dispozitii privind instrumentele de plata de debit; 7. Acordarea de credite; 8.Dispozitii finale; 9. Declaratiile

Clientului si Semnaturile Partilor. 1. INTRODUCERE 1.1. Prevederi Introductive 1.1.1. Prezentele Conditii Generale de Derulare a Operatiunilor Bancare (denumite in continuare“CGB”) stabilesc

cadrul juridic general in care se va desfasura relatia contractuala dintre Raiffeisen Bank SA (denumita in continuare

“Banca”) si fiecare dintre Clientii sai, persoane juridice sau entitati fara personalitate juridica. 1.1.2. Raporturile juridice dintre Banca si Client vor fi guvernate de prezentele CGB, care impreuna cu dispozitiile

prevazute in fiecare dintre documentele contractuale specifice fiecarui tip de produs sau serviciu bancar, inclusiv cele

din contractele de facilitate de credit si/sau Documentele de finantare, încheiate între Banca si Client, vor reprezenta

legea partilor. Prezentele CGB completeaza documentele contractuale specifice produselor/ serviciilor bancare, cu

exceptia cazului in care se prevede expres contrariul in continutul celor din urma. 1.1.3. In masura in care ramân aspecte nereglementate in mod expres, raporturilor juridice dintre Banca si Client li se

vor aplica actele normative in vigoare, reglementarile Bancii Nationale a României, normele Bancii, precum si

uzantele si practicile bancare interne si internationale. 1.1.4. Banca intra in raporturi contractuale cu persoanele care accepta prezentele CGB. Prin semnarea oricarei alte

cereri in forma pusa la dispozitie de Banca sau a oricarui alt Contract specific, Clientul accepta ca, in respectivele

raporturi contractuale cu Banca, sa respecte CGB in vigoare in acel moment, cu posibilele modificari periodice ce pot

fi aduse de Banca in conditiile prezentelor CGB. 1.1.5. Clientul este obligat sa notifice Bancii în scris si fara întârziere, orice modificare aparuta în legatura cu datele

sale de identificare sau ale Reprezentantilor sai, precum si orice informatie ce poate fi relevanta în relatia sa cu

Banca, orice astfel de modificare/informatie fiind opozabila Bancii doar de la data primirii notificarii de catre Banca. 1.2. Conflicte 1.2.1. In caz de conflict intre prevederile exprese din orice Contract specific sau orice alt document semnat intre

Client si Banca si clauzele cuprinse in prezentele CGB, vor prevala prevederile exprese din Contractele/ documentele

specifice. 1.2.2. In situatia in care Clientul accepta atât versiunea in limba româna a CGB, cât si versiunea in limba engleza a

acestora, in cazul oricarui conflict sau neconcordante intre versiunea in limba engleza si cea in limba româna,

versiunea in limba româna va prevala. 1.3. Interpretare 1.3.1. Orice referire facuta la Banca in cuprinsul prezentului document va fi inteleasa ca incluzând si oricare dintre

unitatile sale teritoriale (punct de lucru, reprezentanta, agentie, sucursala).

1.3.2. Orice referire facuta in cuprinsul prezentului document la Clientul - persoana juridica/entitate fara personalitate

juridica - va fi inteleasa ca incluzând si oricare dintre unitatile sale teritoriale (cum ar fi punct de lucru, agentie,

sucursala, reprezentanta) care are deschis un cont la Banca sau beneficiaza de un serviciu/ produs al Bancii.

1.3.3. Orice referire facuta la Client in cuprinsul prezentului document include si categoria de Codebitor si/sau

Garant, daca este cazul conform Contractelor specifice. 1.3.4. Orice referire facuta la Clientul – persoana juridica in cuprinsul prezentului document va fi considerata a fi

facuta si la oricare din succesorii si/sau cesionarii acestuia, cu exceptia oricarei terte persoane care, fara acordul

expres al Bancii, a fost substituita Clientului sau a dobândit de la Client, prin orice modalitate permisa de lege, in tot

sau in parte, drepturi sau obligatii rezultând din Contractele specifice (inclusiv din Contractele de

facilitate/Documentele de finantare). 1.3.5. Referirea facuta la Imprumutat in Contractele specifice de credit se va considera facuta la Client, asa cum

este acesta definit in prezentele CGB.

1.3.6. Oriunde in cuprinsul prezentelor CGB si/sau in cuprinsul fiecarui Contract specific si, daca din context nu

rezulta altfel, dupa caz, pluralul va include singularul si invers.

1.3.7. Referirea la “efecte negative semnificative” sau “afectare semnificativa” va fi interpretata ca reflectând opinia

calificata a Bancii.

1.3.8. Referirea la orice Contract specific sau la orice prevedere legala va include orice modificare, reiterare sau

repunere in aplicarea acestora.

1.3.9. Titlurile din prezentele CGB si/sau din orice Contract specific /documentatie contractuala specifica au fost

introduse numai pentru facilitarea referintelor si nu afecteaza interpretarea prevederilor respectivelor documente

contractuale. 1.4. Clauze independente In cazul in care orice prevedere din CGB si/sau din oricare dintre Contractele specifice incheiate intre Banca si Client, este

sau devine la un moment dat nula, invalida sau neexecutabila conform legii aplicabile, legalitatea, validitatea si

aplicabilitatea unei asemenea prevederi in limita admisa de lege, precum si a celorlalte prevederi ale CGB, nu vor fi afectate

sau prejudiciate de aceasta. Partile vor depune eforturile necesare pentru a realiza acele acte si/sau modificari care ar

conduce la acelasi rezultat legal si/sau economic care s-a avut in vedere la data incheierii CGB. 1.5. Definitii Termenii si expresiile scrise cu majuscule in prezentele CGB si/sau in Contractele specifice au urmatoarele

semnificatii: - Banca = Raiffeisen Bank S.A, in calitate de Institutie de credit si/sau ca Prestator de servicii de plata al Clientului

platitor, dupa caz, al Clientului beneficiar al platii.

- Client = persoana juridica sau entitatea fara personalitate juridica, rezidenta sau nerezidenta, ce intra in relatie

contractuala cu Banca derivând din deschiderea si operarea de catre Client a conturilor bancare (incluzând, dar fara a

se limita la conturile curente, de economii, de depozit, de credit, de card) si/ sau din prestarea/furnizarea de catre

Banca a oricaror altor servicii/produse bancare specifice aflate in oferta sa, inclusiv din acordarea unei facilitati de

credit Clientului. In categoria “entitati fara personalitate juridica” sunt incluse unitatile teritoriale fara personalitate

juridica ale Clientilor – persoane juridice, Persoanele Fizice Autorizate, Intreprinderile Individuale, Intreprinderile

Familiale, Formele de exercitare a profesiei in cadrul ordinelor profesionale, alte forme de asociere sau entitati

reglementate de lege cu acest statut. - Client platitor = Clientul care instructeaza un ordin de plata. - Client beneficiar al platii = Clientul care beneficiaza de fondurile ce fac obiectul unei operatiuni de plata - Delegat = persoana imputernicita de Reprezentantul legal al Clientului sa efectueze la nivelul Conturilor

Clientului operatiunile prevazute expres in formularul furnizat/acceptat de Banca pentru scopul numirii. Formularul va

consemna datele de identificare ale Delegatului, specimenul de semnatura si limitele mandatului incredintat.

Revocarea imputernicirii Delegatilor se face in unitatile Bancii, prin completarea formularului furnizat/acceptat de

Banca pentru acest scop. Numirea si revocarea Delegatilor devin opozabile Bancii incepând cu ziua lucratoare

indicata de Client (alta decât data formularii cererii) sau, dupa caz, cu ziua lucratoare imediat urmatoare depunerii

numirii/ revocarii (in cazul in care Clientul nu specifica expres o data sau daca solicita numirea/ revocarea la data

cererii). - Persoana de contact = persoana desemnata de Client sa primeasca de la Banca orice informatii/comunicari/

solicitari destinate acestuia, transmise prin intermediul telefonului si/sau SMS-mesaj text si/sau postei electronice. - Reprezentantii autorizati = Reprezentantii legali ai Clientului si alte persoane ce sunt imputernicite cu

respectarea, dupa caz, a actelor constitutive sau a actelor de autorizare ale Clientului si/sau a actelor normative in

vigoare aplicabile sa aiba acces in numele si pe seama Clientului la Conturile deschise pe numele acestuia si/sau

sa actioneze in numele si pe seama Clientului in limitele mandatului incredintat. - Reprezentant legal = persoana ce reprezinta Clientul, dupa caz, doar un dezmembramânt al acestuia in relatiile cu

tertii in limitele actelor constitutive, dupa caz, a actelor de autorizare/infiintare ale acestuia si/ sau a actelor normative

in vigoare aplicabile. In cazul dezmembramitelor Clientului pentru care in actele constitutive/de infiintare/autorizare

este stabilit ca vor avea conducere proprie, Reprezentant legal al acestora va fi persoana desemnata in acest sens,

in conditiile respectivelor documente. - Contract specific = contractul incheiat intre Banca si Client fie in baza unei documentatii specifice, fie prin

exprimarea consimtamântului Clientului telefonic, in cadrul apelurilor derulate prin Serviciul Call Center, fie prin

exprimarea consimtamântului Clientului in cadrul aplicatiilor de internet-banking sau mobile-banking puse la dispozitie

de catre Banca, in format electronic, dupa accesarea acestor aplicatii prin utilizarea elementelor de autentificare

agreate cu Banca, contract care reglementeaza termenii si conditiile in care se deruleaza produsele/serviciile bancare

sau in care se constituie garantiile solicitate de Banca pentru derularea produselor/ serviciilor bancare; documentatia

specifica include, fara a se limita la, oferte acceptate de Client, Contracte de facilitate, Angajamente, Documente

de Finantare, Documente de Garantie, alte formulare standard sau in forma acceptata de Banca.

- Card (cardul de debit sau de credit) in lei sau valuta = instrument de plata electronica emis de catre Banca, prin

intermediul caruia Clientul are acces la disponibilitatile banesti proprii din Cont sau la o linie de credit atasata Contului,

aprobata de Banca in limita unui plafon prestabilit.

- Cont = cont bancar in care sunt evidentiate dupa caz, disponibilitatile banesti ale Clientului (ex. Conturi bancare de

tipul celor mentionate la pct.3.3.) si/sau sumele puse de Banca la dispozitia acestuia (ex. in conturi bancare de credit

ori sub forma de descoperit de Cont curent) - Cont de plati = Cont utilizat in principal pentru executarea operatiunilor de plata reglementate la capitolul 4; In

acest tip de cont Banca poate efectua in conditiile reglementate la capitolul 6, la ordinul Clientului titular de cont, si

plata instrumentelor de plata de debit emise de acesta si primite la plata pe Contul sau, dupa caz, incasarea

instrumentelor de plata de debit al caror beneficiar este Clientul titular de cont. - Cod IBAN = denumit in continuare si “numarul Contului”, este o combinatie de litere, cifre sau simboluri

comunicata Clientului de catre Banca la data deschiderii Contului, care urmeaza sa fie furnizata de Client in scopul

identificarii cu precizie la momentul ordonarii unei operatiuni de plata a beneficiarului serviciului de plata si/sau a

Contului de plati al beneficiarului platii. - Codebitor = persoana care se obliga in mod solidar si indivizibil alaturi de Client la plata integrala a oricarei

sume datorate de Client Bancii in baza unui Document de Finantare.

-Cursul de cross-currency = cursul de schimb utilizat pentru operatiunile de plata exprimate intr-o moneda diferita

de cea a contului Clientului platitor, respectiv a contului Clientului beneficiar, calculat dupa cum urmeaza:

(i) in cazul schimburilor valutare de tip valuta/lei, se va utiliza cursul de cumparare al Bancii pentru moneda in care se

exprima suma transferata catre contul Clientului beneficiar, respectiv cursul de vânzare al Bancii pentru moneda in

care se exprima suma platita de catre Clientul platitor; (ii) in cazul schimburilor valutare de tip valuta/ valuta, se va

utiliza cursul obtinut din cursul de cumparare valuta/lei al Bancii pentru moneda in care se exprima suma transferata

de catre Clientul platitor cu cont la o alta banca si cursul de vânzare valuta/lei al bancii aferent valutei in care este

exprimata suma creditata in contul Clientului beneficiar, respectiv cursul obtinut din cursul de vânzare valuta/lei al

bancii pentru moneda in care este exprimata suma transferata catre Clientul beneficiar cu cont la alta banca si cursul

de cumparare valuta/lei al bancii aferent monedei debitate din contul Clientului platitor. In cazul operatiunilor de plata

autorizate prin intermediul cardurilor se vor aplica cursurile de schimb mentionate in mod expres in prezentul

document in cadrul dispozitiilor privind utilizarea cardurilor. - Garant = persoana care constituie in favoarea Bancii o garantie personala sau, dupa caz o garantie reala, in scopul

garantarii executarii obligatiilor de plata asumate de Client in baza Contractelor specifice. - Documente de Finantare = includ Contractele de facilitate (contractele pentru facilitati de credit,contractele

pentru finantari bancare, Angajamentele - de tipul celor mentionate la pct.7.7 in prezentul document si/sau orice alt

document care consemneaza orice alt tip de finantare) si orice alt contract, cerere sau un alt document accesoriu

sau in legatura cu Contractele de facilitate, precum si Documentele de Garantie si clauzele corespunzatoare din

CGB; - Documente de Garantie = toate contractele de garantie si oricare alte documente accesorii acestora, incheiate sau

emise in scopul garantarii unei facilitati de credit/finantari bancare/unui Angajament.

- Dreptul la informare: dreptul persoanei fizice de a fi informat cu privire la identitatea operatorului, scopul in care se

face prelucrarea datelor, destinatarii sau categoriile de destinatari ai datelor, existenta drepturilor prevazute de Legea

nr. 677/2001 pentru persoana vizata si conditiile in care pot fi exercitate; - Dreptul de acces la date: dreptul persoanei fizice de a obtine de la operatorul de date (precum Banca si Biroul de

Credit) la cerere si in mod gratuit, pentru o solicitare pe an, confirmarea faptului ca datele cu caracter personal sunt

sau nu prelucrate de catre acesta. - Dreptul de interventie: dreptul persoanei fizice de a obtine, la cerere si în mod gratuit, rectificarea, actualizarea,

blocarea, stergerea sau transformarea in date anonime a datelor a caror prelucrare nu este conforma legii, în special

a datelor incomplete sau inexacte - Dreptul de opozitie: dreptul persoanei fizice de a se opune în orice moment, din motive intemeiate si legitime

legate de situatia sa particulara, ca datele care vizeaza persoana sa faca obiectul unei prelucrari, cu exceptia

cazurilor in care exista dispozitii legale contrare. - Dreptul de a nu fi supus unei decizii individuale: dreptul persoanei fizice de a cere si de a obtine retragerea,

anularea sau reevaluarea oricarei decizii care produce efecte juridice in privinta persoanei vizate, adoptata exclusiv

pe baza unei prelucrari de date cu caracter personal, efectuata prin mijloace automate, destinata sa evalueze unele

aspecte ale personalitatii sale, precum competenta profesionala, credibilitatea, comportamentul ori alte asemenea

aspecte; - Dreptul de a se adresa justitiei sau Autoritatii Nationale de Supraveghere a Prelucrarii Datelor cu Caracter

Personal, pentru apararea oricaror drepturi garantate de Legea nr. 677/2001, care le-au fost incalcate: fara a se

aduce atingere posibilitatii de a se adresa cu plângere autoritatii de supraveghere, persoanele fizice vizate au dreptul

de a se adresa justitiei pentru apararea oricaror drepturi garantate de prezenta lege, care le-au fost încalcate.

- Grup de clienti aflati in legatura = doua sau mai multe persoane, fizice si/sau juridice, care se afla in una

din urmatoarele pozitii: a) una din ele detine, direct sau indirect, o pozitie de control (detinerea a min 50% din drepturile de vot) in

cealalta/celelalte.

b) una dintre ele exercita sau poate exercita o influenta dominanta (influenta dominanta are in vedere in special

autoritatea de a participa la luarea deciziilor de politica financiara si de exploatare ale unei activitati economice).

c) sot/sotie al/a persoanei fizice titular de cont/solicitant de credit si/sau ai actionarilor/asociatilor cu putere de control

din societatile titulare de cont/solicitante de credit (in cadrul grupului se vor include si societatile in care sotul/sotia

detin puterea de control). d) intre ele exista asemenea legaturi incât, daca una s-ar confrunta cu probleme financiare, exista o probabilitate

considerabila ca cealalta sau toate celelalte sa se confrunte cu dificultati de rambursare (ex. situatia c) aparuta cel

putin ca urmare a actionariatului comun, clauzelor privind raspunderea solidara si indivizibila care determina aparitia

unui singur risc, situatiilor de culpa prin contaminare, interdependentei comerciale semnificative -mai mult de 30% din

achizitii/vânzari - ce nu poate fi inlocuita pe termen scurt)

- Instrument de plata = orice dispozitiv personalizat si/sau orice set de proceduri convenite între Client si Banca

folosit de Client pentru a initia un ordin de plata (cum ar fi Cardul, serviciile de tip Internetbanking, home-banking,

mobile-banking, etc.) - Instrument de plata de debit = cecul, cambia si biletul la ordin, mentionate la capitolul 6; - Operatiune de plata = actiune initiata exclusiv in conditiile capitolului 4 din prezentul document, de Clientul platitor, dupa caz de Clientul beneficiar al platii, cu scopul de a depune, de a transfera sau de a retrage

fonduri, indiferent de orice obligatii subsecvente exista între platitor si beneficiarul platii; operatiunea de plata poate

avea caracter ocazional, in acest caz persoana care initiaza operatiunea nu trebuie sa detina obligatoriu un Cont de

plati. - Ordin de plata = instructiunea data Bancii de Clientul platitor sau de Clientul beneficiar al platii (in calitatea

acesteia de prestator al serviciului de plata al Clientul) de a executa o operatiune de plata; Ordinul de plata este

intrabancar daca operatiunea de plata se deruleaza intre Conturi de plati deschise la Raiffeisen Bank, respectiv

interbancar când se deruleaza intre un Cont de plati deschis la Raiffeisen Bank si un cont deschis la un alt prestator

de servicii de plata. - Ora limita pentru operatiuni de plata = Ora limita = ora stabilita de Banca pentru receptionarea Ordinului de plata

in functie de care se stabileste momentul primirii acestuia. Ora limita poate fi diferita in functie de tipul operatiunii

de plata/instrumentului de plata si este comunicata Clientului dupa caz, prin afisare in locuri special amenajate in

unitatile bancii si/sau in pagina de Internet www.raiffeisen.ro (pentru operatiunile de plata ordonate de Client la

ghiseele Bancii), respectiv in cuprinsul Contractului specific/ofertelor acceptate de Client/aplicatiilor informatice

aferente anumitor servicii prestate/instrumente de plata oferite de Banca. - Momentul primirii Ordinului de plata = ziua în care Ordinul de plata, transmis direct de catre Clientul platitor ori

indirect de catre sau prin intermediul unui beneficiar al platii este considerat a fi primit(receptionat) de catre Banca,

in functie de Ora limita; ca regula, pentru Ordinele de plata receptionate in zile lucratoare pâna in Ora limita,

momentul primirii este ziua receptionarii de catre Banca, iar pentru Ordinele de plata receptionate dupa ora limita,

momentul primirii este ziua lucratoare urmatoare; prin exceptie, daca in Contractul specific se convine ca

executarea Ordinului de plata sa inceapa intr–o anumita zi sau la sfârsitul unei anumite perioade ori in ziua in care

Clientul Platitor a pus fonduri la dispozitia Bancii, Momentul primirii este considerat ziua convenita. Un exemplu in

acest sens sunt serviciile bancare de tip “Debitare directa intrabancara” si “Debitare directa interbancara” (care permit

Beneficarului platii sa initieze operatiuni de plata), precum si cele de tip “Transfer planificat” (prin care Clientul Platitor

ordona plati cu frecventa prestabilita). Daca ziua in care Ordinul de plata este receptionat sau daca ziua convenita in Contractul specific pentru inceperea

executarii sunt nelucratoare, momentul primirii este considerat in ziua lucratoare urmatoare indiferent care este

instrumentul de plata sau modalitatea utilizata pentru transmiterea Ordinului de plata. Un ordin de plata a carui executare a fost refuzata de catre Banca se considera ca nu a fost primit. - Optiune de comisionare SHA = modalitate de comisionare a executarii tuturor operatiunilor de plata in lei si a

operatiunilor de plata in valutele statelor membre apartinând UE (Uniunea Europeana)/SEE (Spatiul economic

European), când prestatorul serviciilor de plata al beneficiarului platii se afla intr-un Stat Membru,conform careia

Clientul platitor suporta comisioanele prestatorului serviciilor de plata al platitorului, iar Clientul beneficiar al platii

suporta comisioanele prestatorului serviciilor de plata al beneficiarului. In orice alt caz, optiunea de comisionare SHA

presupune suportarea de catre Clientul platitor a comisionului Bancii platitorului, iar de catre Clientul beneficiar a

comisionului bancii beneficiarului si a eventualelor comisioane ale bancilor corespondente, conform practicilor

internationale si a standardului SWIFT. - Optiune de comisionare OUR = modalitate de comisionare a executarii operatiunilor de plata in valuta,conform

careia Clientul platitor suporta toate comisioanele aferente executarii.

- Optiune de comisionare BEN = modalitate de comisionare a executarii operatiunilor de plata in valuta,conform

careia Clientul beneficiar al platii suporta toate comisioanele aferente operatiunii de plata.

- Rata dobânzii = procent anual de dobânda determinat/determinabil, conform Contractelor specifice si/ sau

Listelor specifice de dobânda, ce este folosit pentru calculul dobânzii datorate, dupa caz, de Client sau de Banca.

- Rata de Referinta = rata a dobânzii ce provine dintr-o sursa publica ce poate fi verificata atât de Client, cât si de

Banca.

- Rulaj = suma totala a operatiunilor de creditare cont inregistrate in conturile curente ale Clientului deschise la Banca

la un moment dat. La calcularea nivelului Rulajului se exclud rulajele creditoare inregistrate ca urmare a miscarilor de

sume intre conturile Clientului deschise la Banca, precum si sumele provenite din credite acordate de Banca. - Sarcina = inseamna orice sarcina, ipoteca, gaj, cesiune, drept de garantie, privilegiu, prioritate, drept de preferinta

sau de preemptiune, drept de servitute sau alta sarcina care are efecte similare. - Tragere = reprezinta utilizarea de catre Client a sumelor acordate de Banca in baza Documentelor de Finantare. - Zi lucratoare = zi în care Banca desfasoara activitate ce îi permite executarea operatiunilor de plata; in relatia cu

Banca sunt considerate a fi nelucratoare zilele de sâmbata, duminica, sarbatorile legale la nivel national, precum si

orice alte zile considerate nelucratoare de Bancile corespondente/ Sistemele de decontare externe in cazul

operatiunilor de plata ce se deruleaza prin intermediul acestora, precum si zilele pe care Banca le declara

nelucratoare, in aceasta situatie Clientii urmând a fi informati in timp util prin afisarea mesajelor corespunzatoare in

incinta unitatilor bancii si pe pagina de Internet a acesteia. Posesorul de card - este persoana juridica/entitate fara personalitate juridica, titular al unui Cont de Card, care

solicita Bancii emiterea unui Card atasat contului.

Utilizatorul de card - este persoana fizica majora care are acces la sumele din contul Posesorului de card, prin

intermediul Cardului, in baza acordului exprimat de Posesorul de card in documentele puse la dispozitie de catre

Banca. Tranzactie prin card: este operatiunea prin care un card este folosit pentru plata de bunuri si servicii sau pentru

obtinerea de numerar.

Cont de Card – cont curent deschis la Banca in EUR sau lei, la care se ataseaza unul sau mai multe Carduri PIN:

este un cod unic de identificare generat de Banca pentru fiecare Card, ce urmeaza a fi utilizat de Utilizatorul de card

impreuna cu Cardul pentru operatiuni in mediu electronic (tranzactii prin ATM, cât si pentru unele tranzactii prin EPOS

la comercianti si la ghiseele bancare).

Serviciul Call Center: serviciu telefonic pus de Banca la dispozitia Utilizatorilor de card la numarul 021 323 9542,

disponibil 24/7, apelabil si din afara tarii (numar cu tarif normal in reteaua Telekom Romania) sau la numarul de

telefon 0800 802 02 02 (numar gratuit in reteaua Telekom Romania), disponibil 24/7; Serviciul Call Center utilizeaza

linii telefonice publice, ce pot sa nu asigure un nivel corespunzator de protectie a informatiilor, prin apelarea acestui

serviciu Clientul asumându-si riscurile de divulgare informatii derivate din aceasta situatie Card VISA BUSINESS –

cardul de debit VISA Business Raiffeisen Bank, instrument de plata electronica care permite accesul Utilizatorului de

card la disponibilitatile in EUR sau Lei (dupa caz) din contul (conturile) de card deschis(e) de Posesorul de card la

Banca. Parola de securitate in relatia cu Banca – element de identificare indicat de Reprezentantul legal al Posesorului de

card/Utilizatorul de card in formularele specifice, utilizat in acest scop de catre operatorii serviciului telefonic Call

Center al Bancii, ce face dovada deplina a identitatii Reprezentantului legal al Posesorului de card/ Utilizatorului

de card, cât si a vointei acestuia in legatura cu continutul acestor convorbiri, alaturi de eventuale alte informatii

cunoscute doar de Banca si de Reprezentantul legal al Posesorului de card /Utilizatorul de card, convorbirile

telefonice urmând a fi inregistrate in scopul constituirii de probe in acest sens. Contract de card de debit – Contractul specific ce reglementeaza raporturile contractuale dintre Banca si

Posesorul de card, derivate din utilizarea cardului de debit VISA Business Raiffeisen Bank, format din clauzele

prevazute in prezentele CGB-PJ si clauzele ce se regasesc in documentatia specifica de emitere si mentenanta card

de debit si in formularele utilizate pentru numire si revocare Utilizatori de card; Contract de cont curent – Contract specific ce reglementeaza raporturile contractuale dintre Banca si titularul de

cont curent, format din clauzele prevazute in prezentele CGB-PJ si clauzele ce se regasesc in documentatia specifica

de deschidere si mentenanta cont curent; DEFINI}II conform Legii nr. 656/2002 pentru prevenirea si sanctionarea spalarii banilor, precum si pentru

instituirea unor masuri de prevenire si combatere a finantarii actelor de terorism

Art. 3) - (1) În sensul prezentei legi, persoane expuse politic sunt persoanele fizice care exercită sau au exercitat

functii publice importante, membrii familiilor acestora, precum si persoanele cunoscute public ca asociati apropiati ai

persoanelor fizice care exercită functii publice importante.

(2) Persoanele fizice care exercită, în sensul prezentei legi, functii publice importante sunt: a) sefii de stat, sefii de

guverne, membrii parlamentelor, comisarii europeni, membrii guvernelor, consilierii prezidentiali, consilierii de stat,

secretarii de stat; b) membrii curtilor constitutionale, membrii curtilor supreme sau ai altor înalte instante judecătoresti

ale căror hotărâri nu pot fi atacate decât prin intermediul unor căi extraordinare de atac; c) membrii curtilor de conturi

sau asimilate acestora, membrii consiliilor de administratie ale băncilor centrale; d) ambasadorii, însărcinatii cu

afaceri, ofiterii de rang înalt din cadrul fortelor armate; e) conducătorii institutiilor si autoritătilor publice; f) membrii

consiliilor de administratie si ai consiliilor de supraveghere si persoanele care detin functii de conducere ale regiilor

autonome, ale societătilor comerciale cu capital majoritar de stat si ale companiilor nationale.

(3) Niciuna dintre categoriile prevăzute la alin. (2) lit. a) - f) nu include persoane care ocupă functii intermediare sau

inferioare. Categoriile prevăzute la alin. (2) lit. a) - e) cuprind, după caz, functiile exercitate la nivel comunitar sau

international. (4) Membrii familiilor persoanelor care exercită functii publice importante sunt, în sensul prezentei legi: a) sotul/ sotia;

b) copiii si sotii/sotiile acestora; c) părintii.

(5) Persoanele cunoscute public ca asociati apropiati ai persoanelor fizice care exercită functii publice importante sunt:

a) orice persoană fizică ce se dovedeste a fi beneficiarul real al unei persoane juridice sau al unei entităti juridice

împreună cu oricare dintre persoanele prevăzute la alin. (2) sau având orice altă relatie privilegiată de afaceri cu o

astfel de persoană; b) orice persoană fizică care este singurul beneficiar real al unei persoane juridice sau al unei

entităti juridice cunoscute ca fiind înfiintată în beneficiul uneia dintre persoanele prevăzute la alin. (2). (6) Fără a aduce atingere aplicării, pe baza unei evaluări a riscului, a măsurilor suplimentare de cunoastere a

clientelei, după împlinirea unui termen de un an de la data la care persoana a încetat să mai ocupe o functie publică

importantă în sensul alin. (2), institutiile si persoanele prevăzute la art. 8 nu mai consideră persoana respectivă ca

fiind expusă politic.

Art. 4) - (1) În sensul prezentei legi, prin beneficiar real se întelege orice persoană fizică ce detine sau controlează în

cele din urmă clientul si/sau persoana fizică în numele ori în interesul căruia/căreia se realizează, direct sau indirect, o

tranzactie sau o operatiune. (2) Notiunea de «beneficiar real» va include cel putin: a) în cazul societătilor comerciale: 1. persoana sau persoanele fizice care detin ori controlează în cele din urmă o

persoană juridică prin detinerea, în mod direct sau indirect, a pachetului integral de actiuni ori a unui număr de actiuni

sau de drepturi de vot suficient de mare pentru a-i asigura controlul, inclusiv actiuni la purtător, persoana juridică

detinută sau controlată nefiind o societate comercială ale cărei actiuni sunt tranzactionate pe o piată reglementată si

care este supusă unor cerinte de publicitate în acord cu cele reglementate de legislatia comunitară ori cu standarde

fixate la nivel international. Acest criteriu este considerat a fi îndeplinit în cazul detinerii a cel putin 25 % din actiuni

plus o actiune; 2. persoana sau persoanele fizice care exercită în alt mod controlul asupra organelor de administrare

sau de conducere ale unei persoane juridice; b) în cazul persoanelor juridice, altele decât cele prevăzute la lit. a), sau al altor entităti ori constructii juridice care

administrează si distribuie fonduri: 1. persoana fizică care este beneficiară a cel putin 25 % din bunurile unei persoane

juridice sau ale unei entităti ori constructii juridice, în cazul în care viitorii beneficiari au fost deja identificati; 2. grupul

de persoane în al căror interes principal se constituie ori functionează o persoană juridică sau o entitate ori constructie

juridică, în cazul în care persoanele fizice care beneficiază de persoana juridică sau de entitatea juridică nu au fost

încă identificate;3. persoana sau persoanele fizice care exercită controlul asupra a cel putin 25 % din bunurile unei

persoane juridice sau ale unei entităti ori constructii juridice. FATCA - The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act este un pachet legislativ emis in Statele Unite ale Americii, care

poate fi consultat la adresa http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Pages/FATCA.aspx, promulgat

la data de 18 Martie 2010 si care a intrat in vigoare la 1 Iulie 2014, prin care se impune in sarcina contribuabililor

Statelor Unite ale Americii (SUA), inclusiv celor care locuiesc sau isi desfasoara activitatea in afara SUA, obligatia de

a raporta detinerile directe sau indirecte de active financiare din afara Statelor Unite. Aceeasi cerinta de raportare este

prevazuta si pentru institutiile de credit, care detin active in numele contribuabililor SUA.

2. PRINCIPII GENERALE 2.1 Prelucrarea datelor cu caracter personal (Raiffeisen Bank S.A. este inscrisa in registrul ANSPDCP de evidenta a prelucrarilor de date cu caracter personal cu

nr.1967 ca operator de date pentru derulare operatiuni bancare si cu nr.189 ca operator pentru scopuri de reclama,

marketing si publicitate, conform Legii nr. 677/2001) 2.1.1. Prin semnarea prezentelor CGB, Clientul, prin Reprezentantul legal, dupa caz, Reprezentantul autorizat,

cunoscând dispozitiile legale referitoare la protectia persoanelor cu privire la prelucarea datelor cu caracter personal

si libera circulatie a acestor date, accepta faptul ca Banca va prelucra, direct sau prin intermediul

mandatarilor si/sau tertilor contractanti, datele cu caracter personal ale Reprezentantilor legali/ Reprezentantilor

autorizati/Persoanelor de contact/Delegatilor/ Utilizatorilor de card, consemnate in cuprinsul oricaror Contracte

specifice/oferte/angajamente/ formulare/Documente de finantare/Documente de Garantie, in scopul derularii

raporturilor juridice dintre Client si Banca, precum si faptul ca Banca poate prelucra, dezvalui si transmite oricare

dintre aceste date si altor entitati membre ale grupului Raiffeisen, agentilor Bancii sau tertilor contractanti in

scopul derularii oricarui produs/prestarii oricarui serviciu Clientului si/sau în scopul efectuarii de catre Banca,

direct sau prin partenerii contractuali ai acesteia, a studiilor de marketing cu privire la produsele, serviciile si

activitatile actuale si/sau viitoare ale Banci si/sau ale partenerilor acesteia, existenti sau viitori. Datele cu

caracter personal prelucrate includ urmatoarele categorii: date de identificare - numele, prenumele, pseudonim,

adresa de domiciliu/ resedinta, numarul de telefon fix/mobil,codul numeric personal, data si locul nasterii, cetatenie,

rezidenta, functia publica detinuta, tip/serie/numar document de identitate, semnatura olografa; date referitoare la

inadvertente (neconcordante). 2.1.2. Schimbarile cu privire la datele personale ale Reprezentantilor legali/Reprezentantilor autorizati/

Persoanelor de contact/Delegatilor/Utilizatorilor de card si/sau cele cu privire la sediul/forma juridica/ alte

date/informatii in legatura cu Clientul vor fi opozabile Bancii numai dupa ce Banca a primit o notificare scrisa in acest

sens, insotita de documentele juridice corespunzatoare si de dovada indeplinirii formalitatilor de publicitate si

opozabilitate cerute de lege. 2.1.3. In cazul in care Banca ia cunostinta in orice mod despre aparitia unor divergente intre asociatii/ actionarii/

membrii/Reprezentantii legali ai Clientului, urmare carora, fara a se limita la acestea, se rastrânge mandatul

Reprezentantilor autorizati, sau mandatul acestora este revocat si sunt desemnati noi Reprezentanti autorizati fara

a fi inca indeplinite formalitatile de publicitate si opozabilitate cerute de lege, sau se modifica intinderea dreptului de

reprezentare, Banca va avea dreptul dupa caz, sa suspende executarea sau sa considere neprimite oricare

instructiuni transmise /depuse la Banca (incluzând, fara a se limita la, operatiunile de plata din Conturile de plati,

instrumente de plata de debit, instructiunile in temeiul oricarui Contract specific incheiat cu Banca) pâna la

lamurirea situatiei, in baza unor acte in forma si substanta satisfacatoare pentru Banca si/sau pâna la finalizarea

respectivelor formalitati de publicitate si opozabilitate. Clientul exonereaza Banca deorice raspundere pentru

eventualele pierderi suferite de acesta, ca urmare a aparitiei situatiei descrise la acest articol.

2.1.4. Pentru unitatile teritoriale (dezmembramintele) fara personalitate juridica cererea de deschidere a Contului

si/sau solicitarea oricarui alt produs/serviciu oferit de Banca se va face de catre Reprezentantii legali ai Clientului,

care vor indica si limitele mandatului unitatii teritoriale respective in raport cu derularea Contractului specific ce

reglementeaza produsul/serviciul solicitat, daca in actele constitutive ale Clientului – persoana juridica/unitatii

teritoriale fara personalitate juridica nu se va mentiona altfel. 2.1.5. Daca, in conditiile si in conformitate cu legea sau cu reglementarile interne ale Bancii, pentru deschiderea sau

operarea oricaror Conturi si/sau derularea oricaror alte produse/servicii oferite de Banca sunt necesare verificari

suplimentare/periodice ale datelor furnizate de Client, Banca este abilitata sa efectueze orice verificari, sa solicite si

sa obtina orice informatii despre Client, Reprezentantii autorizati sau, dupa caz, orice alte persoane care efectueaza

orice operatiuni si/sau au mandat special pentru anumite operatiuni in legatura cu produsele/serviciile contractate de

Client, de la orice autoritate competenta, registru public, arhiva, baza de date electronica sau organism abilitat,

detinator de astfel de informatii. Toate costurile aferente consultarii acestor baze de date, precum si orice speze,

comisioane si taxe aferente, inclusiv postale, sunt si ramân in sarcina Clientului, acesta acordând Bancii un mandat

de debitare automata a oricarui cont al Clientului in scopul acoperirii sumelor astfel datorate 2.1.6. Clientul are obligatia sa furnizeze orice documente solicitate de catre Banca si sa informeze Banca ori de câte

ori intervin modificari cu privire la documentele depuse in Banca sau la informatiile furnizate bancii sau, dupa caz,

daca nu intervin modificari, sa confirme anual mentinerea valabilitatii informatiilor furnizate Bancii anterior, prin

completarea in unitatile Bancii a formularului corespunzator furnizat de Banca in acest scop si, daca este cazul, prin

depunerea documentelor modificate. De asemenea, Clientul are obligatia ca, in situatia in care oricând, in cadrul

derularii relatiei de afaceri dintre acesta si Banca se schimba situatia beneficiarului real si/sau orice informatii privind

persoana beneficiarului real, sa instiinteze de indata Banca cu privire la acest fapt, comunicând informatiile privind

beneficiarul real prevazute de lege, impreuna cu orice documente relevante solicitate de Banca. 2.2 Confidentialitate 2.2.1. Banca si Clientul se obliga sa mentina confidentialitatea asupra informatiilor obtinute unul despre celalalt in

derularea relatiei Banca - Client, cu respectarea, totusi, a prevederilor oricarei legi sau ordin al unei autoritati

competente care permit sau solicita dezvaluiri. 2.2.2. Clientul autorizeaza Banca sa prelucreze, sa transfere si sa comunice orice fel de informatii referitoare la

Client, Reprezentantii legali si/sau Reprezentantii autorizati, catre si intre sucursalele, agentiile, punctele

de lucru, reprezentantele Bancii, societatilor afiliate Bancii si agentilor si tertilor parteneri ai Bancii, pentru folosire

confidentiala, in legatura cu prestarea oricarui serviciu Clientului (inclusiv pentru plati externe efectuate prin

intermediul unui tert), precum si in scopul prelucrarii de date, efectuarii de analize, recuperarii creantelor Bancii,

obtinerii unor finantari/garantii, transferului de creante ale Bancii, precum si in scopuri statistice. Orice astfel de terta

parte poate in acelasi fel folosi, prelucra si transfera in orice mod datele si informatiile referitoare la Client primite de la

Banca in cadrul autorizarii acordate de Client prin prezentul document. 2.2.3. Banca va pastra confidentialitatea si nu va dezvalui, publica sau divulga prin orice alt mod informatii privind

Conturile Clientilor, operatiunile inregistrate in acestea, relatiile contractuale dintre Banca si Clienti,fara

consimtamântul acestora. 2.2.4. Clauza confidentialitatii nu se va aplica daca: a. informatia este ceruta de o autoritate competenta în cadrul unei proceduri judiciare; b. Clientul autorizeaza Banca sa dezvaluie informatiile; c. în orice alta situatie prevazuta de lege. (spre ex. furnizarea de informatii la cererea institutiilor financiare

corespondente)

2.2.5. Clientul consimte prin prezenta în mod expres, renuntând sa invoce orice restrictie impusa Bancii de legislatia

în vigoare cu privire la secretul bancar, ca Banca sa prezinte în cadrul relatiilor cu tertii implicati în procese

organizatorice si decizionale ale Bancii, orice informatii si date, referitoare la Client sau la conturile sale, necesare

acestor procese si care nu vor afecta în nici un fel Clientul sau afacerile sale. Prin terti implicati se înteleg, dar nu se

limiteaza, orice societati române sau straine care fac parte din grupul de societati din care face parte si Banca,

consultantii de specialitate agreati de Banca, intermediarii pentru anumite afaceri, finantatorii etc. Banca va

intra in relatii contractuale doar cu tertii implicati care se obliga la rândul lor sa pastreze confidentialitatea informatiilor

astfel obtinute. 2.2.6. Banca va putea sa ia orice masuri pe care le considera necesare in relatia cu Clientul, in vederea respectarii

dispozitiilor legale in materia prevenirii si combaterii spalarii banilor si finantarii terorismului. 2.3. Dobânzi. Taxe, Comisioane, Alte costuri. 2.3.1. (i) Pentru produsele si serviciile bancare, Banca percepe Clientilor sai taxe, comisioane, abonamente,alte

speze si, dupa caz, percepe sau acorda dobânzi, la valorile standard cuprinse in Listele specifice, cu exceptia

situatiilor în care se prevad alte niveluri ale acestora in Contractele specifice sau in ofertele acceptate de

Client.

Listele specifice se gasesc in incinta oricareia dintre unitatile teritoriale ale Bancii (in cuprinsul Mapelor speciale sau

afisate in locuri special amenajate). Banca poate decide publicarea Listelor specifice si pe pagina de Internet

www.raiffeisen.ro. 2.3.1.(ii) Banca îsi rezerva dreptul de a modifica oricând nivelul dobânzilor, taxelor, comisioanelor, abonamentelor

si/sau al oricaror alte speze datorate de Client pentru produsele oferite si/sau serviciile prestate (inclusiv pentru

facilitati de credit /finantari bancare/Angajamente/alte tipuri de finantari acordate de Banca), fara a distinge daca

valorile sunt standard sau negociate cu Clientul, în functie de costurile proprii si/sau de politica financiara a Bancii

si/sau in functie de evolutia ratelor de dobânda pe piata financiar - bancara si/sau, daca este cazul, de alte criterii

prevazute in Contractele specifice si cu conditia informarii Clientului asupra noilor valori prin publicarea acestora

in Listele specifice sau prin notificarea Clientului in oricare dintre modalitatile mentionate la art. 8.2.1. aleasa de

Banca, atunci când nu este prevazuta expres o alta modalitate de informare in Contractul specific.Modificarea

nivelurilor costurilor se considera a fi fost valabil comunicata Clientului de la data publicarii noilor valori in cuprinsul

Listelor specifice, sau, dupa caz, de la data primirii notificarii in conditiile pct.8.2.2, Clientul acceptând ca noile valori

ii sunt aplicabile de la data comunicarii sau de la o alta data stabilita pentru intrarea in vigoare (când este cazul).

2.3.2. Banca va informa Clientul asupra conditiilor standard de taxe, comisioane, speze si dobânzi ale Bancii in

vigoare, dupa caz, la momentul solicitarii unei oferte privind produsele/serviciile bancare sau la momentul incheierii

unui Contract specific. 2.3.3. Orice dobânda este calculata zilnic la sumele inregistrate în soldul debitor, dupa caz, sold creditor al Contului

(curent/de depozit/de economii/de credit), pe baza formulei: D = C*Rd*n/N, unde:

D - dobânda calculata; C - capitalul asupra caruia se calculeaza dobânda care poate fi suma inregistrata in soldul creditor/debitor al contului

curent, suma inregistrata in soldul creditor al contului de depozit, suma acordata de Banca cu titlul de facilitate de

credit/finantare bancara/Angajament; Rd - Rata dobânzii n - numarul de zile din luna (care poate fi determinat conventional de catre parti prin Contractele specifice, ca fiind

numarul efectiv de zile ale lunii pentru care se calculeaza dobânda sau 30);

N - Numarul de zile din an (care poate fi determinat conventional de catre parti prin Contractele specifice, ca

17 martie 2015 fiind numarul efectiv de zile ale anului, 360 sau 365/366). 2.3.4. Rata dobânzii poate avea o valoare fixa sau variabila. Rata dobânzii variabila se modifica in functie de: (a) indici de referinta verificabili (ex. Rata de Referinta) prevazuti in Contractele specifice, ori (b) schimbarile legislative ce impun astfel de modificari, ori (c) in conditiile clauzei 2.3.1(ii), ori (d) in functie de alte criterii prevazute in Contractele specifice. 2.3.5. Toate costurile suportate de Banca (incluzând, fara limitare, cheltuielile cu executorii judecatoresti, onorarii

avocatiale, taxe de timbru, taxe judiciare, etc.) in cazul in care ar fi implicata intr-un litigiu cu Clientul sau/si dintre

Client si o terta parte, vor fi recuperate de la Client. 2.4. Raiffeisen Bank SA aplica cerintele FATCA si s-a inregistrat pe siteul Internal Revenue Service (IRS) al SUA cu

Statusul FATCA Registered Deemed-Compliant Financial Institution, primind Numarul Global Intermediar de

Identificare (GIIN) 28CWN4.00008.ME.642. In consecinta, Banca va identifica contribuabilii SUA si va raporta

informatii despre persoanele relevante si despre conturile deschise la Banca de catre acestia, respectiv despre acele

conturi in care sunt evidentiate detinerile directe sau indirecte de active financiare de catre persoane relevante prin

prisma aplicarii cerintelor FATCA.

3. CONDITII GENERALE APLICABILE CONTURILOR 3.1 Reguli generale privind deschiderea si operarea Conturilor 3.1.1. Conturile deschise pe numele Clientului la Banca vor fi guvernate de termenii si conditiile continute in

Contractul specific fiecarui tip de cont incheiat intre Banca si Client si completat de regulile generale stabilite prin

prezentele CGB, in masura in care acestea sunt aplicabile. 3.1.2. Banca va putea, fara insa a fi obligata la aceasta, sa deschida pe numele Clientilor, prin unitatile sale operative

si in conformitate cu procedurile interne emise de Banca in acest scop, Conturi (precum, dar fara a se limita la conturi

curente, conturi de economii, conturi de depozit), pe baza cererii formulata de acestia ce va fi insotita de documentele

juridice solicitate de Banca. 3.1.3. Banca isi rezerva dreptul de a solicita Clientului orice informatii pe care le considera necesare pentru

deschiderea si operarea Conturilor si poate refuza deschiderea unui Cont si/sau efectuarea de operatiuni de

plata in Cont ori poate proceda la denuntarea unilaterala a Contractului specific fiecarui Cont si, daca este

cazul, a altor raporturi juridice existente in legatura cu acesta, daca primeste informatii incomplete, insuficiente, in

cazul unor declaratii false, sau daca are suspiciuni cu privire la realitatea celor declarate, documentelor si informatiilor

furnizate de Client, cu respectarea politicilor Bancii de acceptare si cunoastere a clientelei.

3.1.4. Contractul specific fiecarui Cont (cum ar fi Cererea de deschidere de cont curent, Contractul de constituire

depozit, etc.) va fi semnat de Reprezentantul legal al Clientului.

3.1.5. Pentru Conturile deschise in zilele nelucratoare data deschiderii Contului va fi ziua lucratoare imediat

urmatoare, urmând a se aplica acestuia ratele de dobânda in vigoare la data deschiderii.

3.1.6. Daca, in conditiile si in conformitate cu legea sau cu reglementarile interne ale Bancii, pentru deschiderea sau

operarea oricaror Conturi, sunt necesare verificari suplimentare si/sau periodice ale datelor furnizate de

Client/Reprezentantii autorizati/Delegati, Banca este abilitata sa efectueze orice verificari, sa solicite si sa obtina

orice informatii despre acestia, precum si despre oricare alte persoane care efectueaza depuneri in Conturi si/sau au

mandat special pentru anumite operatiuni, de la orice autoritate competenta, registru public, arhiva, baza de date

electronica sau organism abilitat, detinator de astfel de informatii. Toate costurile aferente consultarii acestor baze de

date, precum si orice speze, comisioane si taxe aferente, inclusiv postale, sunt si ramân in sarcina Clientului, Banca

având mandat de debitare automata a oricarui cont al Clientului pentru recuperarea acestora.

3.1.7. Disponibilitatile Clientului inregistrate in Conturi sunt garantate in Romania prin Fondul de garantare a

depozitelor în sistemul bancar in limitele si cu exceptiile prevazute de Ordonanta Guvernului nr.39/1996, afisate la

orice unitate a Bancii. Clientul are obligatia ca, în situatia în care intervin modificari privind incadrarea depozitelor

constituite la banca in categoriile prevazute de lege, sa le comunice Bancii în termen de 30 de zile de la data

modificarii. 3.1.8. In cazul in care au fost depuse la Banca sume cu titlu de aport la capitalul social al Clientului, acesta din urma

intelege si se obliga sa solicite deschiderea primului cont curent/primelor conturi curente in aceeasi valuta ca cea in

care au fost depuse sumele cu titlu de aport la capital social. In acest sens, Clientul mandateaza Banca sa opereze

transferul acestor sume in contul curent deschis/conturile curente deschise in valuta/valutele in care aceste sume au

fost depuse.

3.2. Persoanele care pot opera in Conturile Clientului 3.2.1. Indiferent de numarul si tipurile Conturilor, Clientul, in calitate de titular al acestora, prin Reprezentantii

sai legali poate numi in relatia cu Banca Reprezentanti autorizati, care au dreptul sa dispuna de fondurile din

Conturile indicate expres de Client. 3.2.2.(i) Numirea Reprezentantilor autorizati, datele de identificare si specimenul de semnatura al acestora, precum

si limitele mandatului in care actioneaza pe Cont (determinarea limitelor de competenta si/sau a conditiilor de

angajare a acestora) sunt consemnate in formularele standard furnizate de Banca in acest scop, dupa caz (Lista

Reprezentantilor autorizati, formularele de inrolare si actualizare date ce trebuie completate pentru fiecare

Reprezentant autorizat in parte, Contractul specific), aceste documente fiind pastrate de Banca. 3.2.2.(ii) In cazul in

care accesul la Conturi se face prin intermediul unor instrumente de plata, canale de comunicare si/sau alte servicii

speciale oferite de Banca, datele de identificare ale Reprezentantilor autorizati vor fi consemnate in

documentele/aplicatiile informatice specifice respectivelor modalitati de acces. 3.2.2.(iii) Lipsa unor restrictii, limitari de competenta sau conditii de angajare in ceea ce priveste Reprezentantii

autorizati, expres prevazute in documentele/aplicatiile mentionate la pct.3.2.2 (i) si 3.2.2.(ii), duce fara echivoc la

concluzia ca Reprezentantii autorizati au toti si fiecare separat dreptul deplin de a dispune, in numele si pe seama

Clientului, pe Contul acestuia. 3.2.2.(iv) Imputernicirea de reprezentare data de Client Reprezentantului autorizat va fi considerata valabila, pâna

la revocarea acesteia efectuata, dupa caz, prin una din urmatoarele modalitati: completarea unei noi Liste a

Reprezentantilor autorizati in unitatile Bancii, sau a oricarui alt formular standard furnizat de Banca in acest scop,

respectiv prin transmiterea revocarii in conditiile Contractului specific. 3.2.2.(v) Numirea, respectiv, revocarea Reprezentantilor autorizati devin opozabile Bancii dupa cum urmeaza: (i) incepând cu ziua lucratoare indicata de Client in documentul de revocare/de numire (alta decât cea a cererii) (ii) incepând cu ziua lucratoare imediat urmatoare datei depunerii revocarii /transmiterii numirii (in cazul in care

Clientul nu specifica expres o data sau când se solicita numirea/revocarea la data cererii). 3.2.3. Pentru a putea executa mandatul incredintat de Client, Reprezentantul autorizat trebuie sa furnizeze Bancii

informatiile si documentele solicitate de aceasta si sa depuna specimenul de semnatura la Banca (acea semnatura a

Reprezentantului autorizat ce urmeaza a fi utilizata in relatia cu Banca pentru instructiuni de plata valabile,

autorizate de Client), daca prin Contractul specific nu se prevede altfel. 3.2.4. Clientul are obligatia de a face permanent cunoscute Reprezentantului autorizat conditiile de operare a

Conturilor.

3.2.5. Asupra sumelor aflate în Conturile deschise în evidenta Bancii pentru Clienti, pot dispune liber, cu respectarea

normelor în vigoare, urmatoarele persoane: a. Clientul titular al Contului, prin Reprezentantii autorizati; b. succesorii in drepturi ai Clientului, care dovedesc cu documente juridice corespunzatoare aceasta calitate c.

utilizatorii autorizati ai cardurilor de debit atasate contului curent (numai prin intermediul acestor carduri).

d. orice alte persoane autorizate de lege sa aiba acces la Conturile clientului (precum, dar fara a se limita la

administratorul judiciar, lichidatorul). 3.3. Banca ofera Clientilor urmatoarele tipuri de Conturi: 3.3.1. Conturi de plati precum, dar fara a se limita la: Cont curent, Cont de Card (de debit/de credit), Cont colector,

Cont de distribuiri; Cont de delistare,.

3.3.2. Alte tipuri de Conturi precum, dar fara a se limita la: Contul de economii, Contul de depozit la termen, Contul

Escrow, Contul de garantie.

3.4. Overdraft neautorizat acordat de Banca 3.4.1. Banca va putea decide, la discretia sa totala, conform normelor sale interne, efectuarea unei plati cerute de

catre Client sau recuperarea de taxe, comisioane, speze, dobânzi, credite scadente, credite restante, etc, care

depasesc limita soldului creditor al Contului curent, chiar daca nu exista un Contract specific pentru o facilitate de

descoperit de cont (overdraft) deja incheiat cu Clientul. Astfel, simpla instructare a Bancii de a procesa plati care

exced soldul creditor al Contului curent, data direct de catre Client sau prin mandat incredintat Bancii, sau prin

intermediul ori de catre un tert beneficiar, are valoare juridica de acceptare anticipata de catre Client a unei facilitati de

overdraft non-revolving (“overdraft neautorizat”), daca Banca va hotari acordarea acesteia la momentul procesarii

Ordinului de plata. Dobânda datorata de Client se calculeaza conform sectiunii 2.3.3., cu precizarea ca “n” este numarul de zile

calendaristice din luna, iar “N” este 360.

3.4.2. Sumele astfel avansate de Banca vor fi considerate datorate de Client incepând cu data avansarii lor si vor fi

purtatoare de dobânda calculata la o rata anuala stabilita de Banca pentru astfel de situatii. Clientul se obliga sa

alimenteze de indata respectivul Cont cu toate sumele astfel datorate, fiind de acord ca orice creditare a contului

respectiv se considera efectuata in scopul rambursarii cu prioritate a acestor sume si ca respectivele sume nu mai pot

fi reutilizate de Client.

3.4.3. Pentru scopurile constituirii unui “titlu executor” Banca si Clientul sunt de acord ca prezentele CGB si

extrasul de cont ce reflecta sumele acordate de Banca in conditiile prevazute la 3.4.1. si 3.4.2. au valoarea juridica a

unui contract de credit in descoperit de cont (overdraft). 3.4.4. Banca are dreptul de a recupera pe cai legale sumele datorate, fara o avizare prealabila. 3.5. Dreptul de compensare 3.5.1. Clientul autorizeaza Banca, prin prezenta, sa compenseze in orice moment orice suma datorata Bancii cu

fondurile disponibile in orice Cont curent, Cont de Card de debit, Cont de economii si/sau Cont de depozit, indiferent

de valuta in care sunt disponibile si/sau indiferent de scadenta sumelor din aceste Conturi, fara a fi necesar in acest

sens un alt acord prealabil al Clientului, cu exceptia cazului in care prin Contractul specific se prevede altfel.

3.5.2. In cazul in care compensarea sumelor datorate va necesita schimbarea unei anumite valute in alta, o astfel de

schimbare se va efectua la cursul de schimb practicat de Banca la acea data, in acest scop Banca fiind mandatata

pentru orice operatiune de schimb valutar care va fi necesara. 3.5.3. În situatia în care în Conturile Clientului mentionate la pct.3.5.1. nu exista disponibil suficient pentru acoperirea

oricaror sume datorate Bancii, Banca este autorizata sa debiteze oricare dintre Conturile Clientului sau, chiar daca

prin aceasta s-ar genera descoperit de cont neautorizat in conditiile sectiunii 3.4. “Overdraft neautorizat”

3.5.4. Clientul va fi instiintat de catre Banca dupa efectuarea compensarii prin extrasul de cont. 3.6. Incetarea relatiei de Cont 3.6.1. Clientul va putea denunta unilateral raportul juridic de Cont curent/Cont de economii,oricând pe durata

derularii Contractului specific, cu un preaviz de 15 zile calendaristice si numai daca achita integral sumele datorate

Bancii in baza respectivului Contract specific. In acest scop, Clientul va depune o solicitare scrisa la oricare dintre

unitatile Bancii, fara a fi necesar sa indice motivele pentru care doreste incetarea Contractului specific. Denuntare nu

va produce efecte daca la data inregistrarii acesteia exista in derulare produse/servicii bancare care necesita

mentinerea deschisa a Contului, caz in care Clientul poate relua procedura denuntarii doar dupa incetarea raporturilor

juridice aferente produselor/serviciilor bancare in derulare. 3.6.2. Clientul si Banca agreeaza ca Banca va putea denunta unilateral raportul juridic de Cont Curent, oricând

pe durata derularii Contractului specific, fara a fi necesara justificarea unei astfel de decizii, instiintând Clientul intr-

un termen rezonabil ulterior inchiderii Contului conform regulilor de la sectiunea 8.2. “Notificari”. 3.6.3. Banca este îndreptatita sa rezilieze raportul juridic de Cont, Contractul specific fiind considerat desfiintat

de plin drept, fara a fi necesara punerea in intârziere si fara indeplinirea vreunei alte formalitati prealabile, judiciare

sau extrajudiciare, in urmatoarele cazuri: a. in cazul in care Clientul nu respecta conditiile de functionare ale Contului impuse de Banca, prevederile legale în

vigoare sau normele de lucru ale Bancii, ori Clientul este suspectat de efectuarea unor operatiuni prin care incalca

prevederi legale (precum, dar fara a se limita la prevederi ce reglementeaza incidentele de plati majore cu cecuri,

bilete la ordin, cambii, cele din materia prevenirii si combaterii spalarii banilor si finantarii terorismului), ori a furnizat

Bancii informatii si/sau documente false ori refuza furnizarea catre Banca a informatiilor si/sau documentelor si/sau

acordurilor necesare indeplinirii de catre Banca a obligatiilor contractuale si/ ori legale (inclusiv in scopul aplicarii

cerintelor FATCA), instiintând Clientul intr-un termen rezonabil ulterior inchiderii Contului conform regulilor de la

sectiunea 8.2. “Notificari”. b. in cazul Contului Curent, daca soldul nu mai acopera costurile (taxele si/sau comisioanele) aferente acestuia si

daca nu exista o dispozitie derogatorie in Contractele specifice, fara notificare.

c. in cazul Conturilor in stare “dormant” reglementate la sectiunea 3.6.5., fara notificare. 3.6.4. In toate cazurile in care initiativa inchiderii Contului apartine Bancii, exceptând Conturile “dormant”, de la data

inchiderii Contului, Banca va inceta creditarea cu dobânda a contului, urmând ca suma care constituie la acea data

soldul creditor al Contului sa fie transferata conform instructiunilor Clientului transmise in scris. In cazul in care Clientul

nu instructeaza Banca, fondurile vor putea fi transferate de Banca in orice alt Cont activ al Clientului, fiind

imputernicita de Client sa efectueze in acest scop, daca este cazul, schimburile valutare necesare, la cursul de

schimb al Bancii de la data executarii operatiunii de transfer. Banca nu va fi raspunzatoare in nicio situatie pentru eventuale prejudicii pe care le-ar suferi Clientul ca urmare a inchiderii conturilor sale, conform celor mai sus precizate. 3.6.5. Prevederi speciale aplicabile Conturilor “dormant” Daca pe parcursul unei perioade de timp, stabilita de Banca si adusa la cunostinta Clientului prin afisare la unitatile

Bancii, pentru Contul curent sau Contul de economii nu s-a inregistrat si aprobat nicio cerere a Clientului de

modificare cont sau daca in Contul curent sau Contul de economii activ, Clientul si/sau, dupa caz, tertii nu a/au

efectuat nicio miscare de debitare sau creditare a Contului, Contul va deveni “dormant”. Nu sunt considerate operatiuni in cont, creditarea acestuia cu dobânzile platite de Banca si debitarea contului cu

contravaloarea comisioanelor/taxelor datorate de Client in legatura cu Contul.

Banca va continua sa perceapa taxe si comisoane conturilor intrate in starea “dormant” atâta timp cât exista sold

creditor. De asemenea, Banca va continua sa calculeze dobânda creditoare/debitoare in functie de caracteristicile

fiecarui Cont, indiferent daca soldul Contului este debitor sau creditor. Banca va putea decide oricând inchiderea contului declarat “dormant” cu sold zero sau debitor, fara notificarea

prealabila sau ulterioara a clientului. In urma aprobarii unei cereri de modificare cont sau in urma procesarii unei tranzactii de debitare sau creditare pe

contul ”dormant”, acesta va fi reactivat automat de catre Banca; dupa aprobarea cererii de modificare

cont/efectuarea tranzactiei, contul va ramane in stare ”activ” si poate redeveni ”dormant” in conditiile

mentionate in prezenta sectiune. Banca nu va anunta Clientul despre trecerea contului in stare “dormant” sau

despre activarea contului .Dupa activarea Contului, Banca are dreptul sa aplice dispozitiile pct.3.5. in scopul stingerii

oricarei eventuale sume datorata de Client si neachitata de acesta la scadenta. Banca nu are obligatia de a pune la dispozitia clientului extrasul de cont pe perioada in care contul se afla in starea

dormant. 3.6.6. Blocarea Conturilor. Banca este indreptatita sa blocheze Conturile Clientului in urmatoarele situatii: a. in aplicarea clauzei 2.2.6; b. in cazul Clientilor care se regasesc in ipoteza reglementata in clauza 3.6.3; c. in cazul reglementat in clauza 4.9.8; d. in cazul in care intervine situatia reglementata in clauza 2.1.3 sau la solicitarea expresa a Clientului exprimata prin

completarea formularului specific pus la dispozitie de catre Banca;

e. in situatia in care Clientul instiinteaza Banca de pierderea/furtul actelor de identitate ale unicului Reprezentant legal

al Clientului. Conturile vor fi deblocate numai dupa ce unicul Reprezentant legal al Clientului va prezenta Bancii noile

documente de identitate pentru actualizarea datelor in sistem. f. in orice alte cazuri prevazute de lege si/sau in Contractele specifice; Pe durata blocarii Contului Curent: (i) se va calcula si va inregistra dobânda creditoare sau, dupa caz debitoare; (ii)

se va percepe comisionul de administrare a Contului prevazut in Contractul specific; (iii) se vor inregistra orice

operatiuni de plata finalizate prin creditarea Contului curent; (iv) Banca nu va executa ordinele de plata ce au ca efect

debitarea Contului curent (acestea fiind considerate neprimite); Pe durata blocarii celorlalte tipuri de Cont (incluzând, fara a se limita la, Conturilor de depozit si Conturilor de

economii): (i) Clientul nu va putea efectua operatiuni de retragere partiala sau totala a fondurilor;(ii) orice alte

prevederi din Contractele specifice se vor aplica in conditiile stabilite in cuprinsul acestor contracte. Pe durata blocarii oricaror alte tipuri de Conturi se va proceda conform prevederilor din Contractele specifice. 3.6.7. Termen de prescriptie In toate cazurile de inchidere a unui Cont, termenul in care Clientul va putea solicita restituirea sumelor care au

reprezentat soldul creditor al respectivului Cont la data inchiderii acestuia, in cazul in care sumele respective nu au

fost deja transferate de Banca, dupa caz, conform ordinului Clientului sau, in lipsa unei astfel de instructiuni, in orice

alt Cont activ al Clientului, este termenul general de prescriptie. Sumele inregistrate in soldurile Conturilor inchise

se vor pastra de catre Banca la dispozitia Clientului, in conturi nepurtatoare de dobânda. 7. ACORDAREA DE CREDITE 7.1. Facilitati de credit. Finantari bancare. Angajamente. Alte tipuri de finantari. 7.1.1. Orice facilitate de credit (fara a se limita la credite la termen, linii de credit reinnoibile, etc), finantare bancara

(fara a se limita la scontari/forfetari/factoring), Angajament (de tipul celor mentionate la pct.7.7 in prezentul

document) si /sau orice alt tip de finantare, va putea fi acordat/a, tinând cont de normele proprii de creditare ale

Bancii, fie in baza unui Contract de facilitate incheiat in acest sens intre Banca si Client (in cazul facilitatilor de credit

/finantarilor bancare), fie in temeiul unei Cereri specifice (in cazul Angajamentelor/ oricarui alt tip de finantare).

7.1.2. Raportul juridic derivat din facilitatile de credit/finantarile bancare/Angajamentele acordate de Banca va fi

guvernat de termenii si conditiile cuprinse in prezentele CGB si in Documentele de Finantare. Toate clauzele

capitolului 7 (“Acordarea de credite”), impreuna cu oricare alte clauze din prezentele CGB in legatura cu acestea, fac

parte integranta din oricare Contract de facilitate/Cerere specifica incheiate de Client cu Banca. 7.1.3. Creditele vor fi garantate cu garantiile prevazute în normele Bancii, iar rambursarea sumelor acordate se va

face conform prevederilor din Contractele de facilitate/Cererilor specifice. 7.1.4. Pentru sumele datorate de Client conform Documentelor de Finantare si nerambursate la scadentele stabilite, Banca va încasa o dobânda penalizatoare. 7.2. Angajamentele Clientului fata de Banca 7.2.1. Clientul, dupa caz, Codebitorul/Garantul se obliga fata de Banca prin oricare Contract de facilitate

/Cerere specifica:

a. sa utilizeze orice facilitate de credit acordata in conformitate cu prevederile Contractului de facilitate/ Cererii

specifice.

b. cu exceptia creditului furnizor in cadrul activitatii curente, sa nu incheie fara acordul prealabil, expres, in scris, al

Bancii, cu orice persoane, fizice sau juridice, in calitate de imprumutator sau de garant pentru obligatii ale tertilor,

indiferent de natura garantiei, acte juridice de imprumut sau garantare, sau acte care, prin intermediul oricaror altor

acte sau operatiuni admise de lege, determina, din punct de vedere economic sau juridic, in tot sau in parte, efectele

actelor juridice de imprumut sau garantare; c. sa mentina creantelor Bancii un rang de preferinta cel putin egal (pari passu) cu cele ale oricaror alti creditori viitori

ai sai. In acest sens Clientul nu va rambursa preferential sumele datorate altor creditori si nu va constitui in favoarea

altor creditori garantii care sa aiba rang si/sau valoare superioara celor constituite in favoarea Bancii, cu luarea in

considerare a proportiei creantei avute de Banca in totalul creantelor creditorilor Clientului, altii decât cei desemnati

creditori privilegiati prin efectul legilor cu aplicare generala. d. sa nu instraineze sau sa dispuna (chiar prin constituirea oricarei sarcini) in alt mod decât cel impus de cursul

normal al desfasurarii obiectului de activitate de oricare dintre activele sale (altele decât cele ce fac obiectul garantiilor

accesorii oricarui Contract de facilitate/Cereri specifice), daca acest fapt e de natura sa aiba un impact negativ

asupra capacitatii sale de rambursare a facilitatii de credit/finantarii bancare/Angajamentului si sa nu constituie nici o

sarcina asupra nici unuia dintre activele sale, cu exceptia celor expres aprobate de Banca; e. sa furnizeze cu promptitudine, pe toata perioada in care are contractate facilitati, semestrial, concomitent cu

bilantul depus la organele fiscale, balanta de verificare contabila aferenta raportarii bilantiere, punând la dispozitia

Bancii documentele corespunzatoare in termen de 10 (zece) zile calendaristice de la data prevazuta de lege pentru

inregistrarea lor la autoritatea competenta . f. sa permita si/sau sa faciliteze examinarea de catre reprezentantii ori imputernicitii Bancii a activitatii, a

documentelor sau arhivelor sale si/sau ale Garantilor/Codebitorilor, care au legatura cu oricare dintre Contractele de facilitate/Cererile specifice incheiate cu Banca. g. sa suporte toate taxele si orice cheltuieli aferente constituirii si inregistrarii legale a garantiilor accesorii

Contractelor de facilitate/Cererilor specifice sau datorate pentru indeplinirea altor formalitati cerute de lege cu

privire la Documentele de Finantare, cu exceptia situatiei in care Banca va aproba expres o obligatie diferita in

sarcina Clientului. h. sa asigure integritatea si folosirea in bune conditii a bunurilor aduse de acesta in garantie, sa nu constituie noi

garantii sau orice alta sarcina asupra bunurilor aduse in garantie in favoarea unor terte parti decât cu conditia

constiturii in favoarea Bancii a unei ipoteci imobiliare /mobiliare de prim rang asupra unui bun de acelasi tip, având o

valoare de piata cel putin egala cu cea a bunului ce face obiectul garantiei si având o situatie juridica de natura sa nu

impieteze valorificarea acestuia de catre Banca. i. sa nu instraineze bunurile aduse in garantie pe intreaga perioada de derulare a oricarei facilitati de credit/ finantari

bancare/oricarui Angajament acordate de Banca; in cazul garantiilor ipotecare, se obliga in plus sa nu dezmembreze/

modifice imobilele ipotecate, sa nu le inchirieze catre terti fara acordul prealabil scris al bancii; În cazul in care bunul

ce face obiectul garantiei ar fi instrainat, Garantul se obliga sa nu instraineze bunul la un pret de vânzare mai mic

decât valoarea creditului, sa depuna pretul într-un cont bancar distinct deschis la Banca si sa informeze Banca cu

privire la acesta operatiune si depunerea pretului in cont urmând ca sumele depuse in acest cont sa fie tinute la

dispozitia Bancii iar contul in cauza sa fie ipotecat in favoarea Bancii. Prevederile ultimei teze a acestui paragraf nu se

vor interpreta in sensul unui acord de instrainare. j. in cazul nerespectarii obligatiilor prevazute la lit.i), interesele Bancii se prezuma a fi vatamate datorita ingreunarii

unei eventuale executari silite si sunt datorate Bancii daune interese cu titlu de clauza penala in cuantum egal cu

valoarea de piata a bunului ce face obiectul garantiei, valoarea stabilita conform evaluarii Bancii, dar fara a depasi

valoarea Obligatiilor de plata.

k. Clientul/Codebitorul cu privire la toate bunurile asupra carora sunt constituite garantiile aferente Contractelor de

facilitate/Cererilor specifice si/sau oricaror alte Documente de Finantare, dupa caz, Garantul, in ce priveste

bunurile proprietatea acestuia aduse in garantie, se obliga sa asigure aceste bunuri in conditiile pct.7.13.5, la o

societate de asigurari acceptata de catre Banca, sa plateasca primele de asigurare la scadenta acestora si sa

reinnoiasca la timp asigurarile, astfel incât asigurarea sa produca efecte neintrerupt pâna la plata integrala a tuturor

sumelor datorate si garantate in temeiul Documentelor de Finantare. In situatia neprezentarii politei de asigurare

reinnoite sau in cazul neprezentarii dovezilor de plata a primelor de asigurare la scadenta acestora (caz in care Banca

este indreptatita sa considere ca a incetat polita de asigurare) , Clientul/Codebitorul, dupa caz, Garantul imputerniceste Banca sa reinnoiasca, respectiv sa incheie pe contul si

in numele acestuia de câte ori este necesar polita de asigurare pentru sumele cuvenite cu titlu de despagubiri si

pentru acest scop sa debiteze orice Cont al acestuia deschis la Banca, de disponibilitati sau de depozit (chiar

neajuns la termen), cu sumele reprezentând primele de asigurare si sa efectueze plata

acestor prime. In acest caz Clientul/Codebitorul/Garantul sunt de acord ca Banca are dreptul neingradit de a

alege societatea de asigurare cu care se va incheia polita de asigurare, aceasta putând fi si o societate partenera a

Bancii. Clientul/Codebitorul/Garantul se obliga ca, la solicitarea Bancii, sa predea acesteia in original, contractul de

asigurare (polita de asigurare impreuna cu termenii si conditiile asigurarii), ce urmeaza a fi pastrat de Banca pâna la

plata integrala a tuturor obligatiilor rezultând din Documentele de Finantare. l. sa notifice Bancii in scris orice imprejurare de natura economica sau juridica, act sau fapt care ar modifica starea de

drept sau de fapt existenta la momentul incheierii oricarui Contract de facilitate/Cereri specifice, imediat dupa

intervenirea acesteia, incluzând dar fara a se limita la: orice propunere de modificare a Actului Constitutiv sau de divizare, fuziune sau alta procedura de

restructurareorganizatorica, initierea unei proceduri de reorganizare, de dizolvare sau lichidare, sau participarea la

capitalul social al altor societati comerciale; orice modificare a obiectului sau naturii activitatilor comerciale desfasurate; orice proceduri administrative, judiciare sau arbitrale initiate impotriva sa, sau

iminente;iminenta oricaruiCaz de NeindepliniresauCulpa, etc. m. sa puna la dispozitia Bancii, pe toata perioada in care are in derulare Contracte de facilitate/ Cereri specifice,

informatiile/documentele considerate relevante pentru aprecierea situatiei sale economico-financiare si orice alte

documente/informatii solicitate de Banca in legatura cu activitatea sa economica, situatia juridica si/sau financiara, in

termen de 2 (doua) zile calendaristice de la trimiterea de catre Banca a unei solicitari scrise in acest sens.

n. sa notifice Bancii in prealabil, in scris, intentia de rambursare partiala/integrala, in avans a oricarei facilitati de

credit/finantari bancare.

o. fara acordul prealabil expres, in scris, al Bancii, sa nu faca nici o schimbare privind titularii dreptului de proprietate

deplin, cu toate atributele sale, asupra partilor sociale/actiunilor ce formeaza capitalul social al Clientului, ori o alta

schimbare de natura sa afecteze controlul direct sau indirect al asociatilor/actionarilor existenti la data semnarii

Documentelor de Finantare asupra capitalului social al Clientului (indiferent daca prin detinerea drepturilor de vot,

prin contract sau altfel). p. fara acordul prealabil al Bancii, sa nu adopte o hotarâre in vederea reorganizarii, fuziunii sau divizarii. Pentru

aceasta, Clientul atesta si garanteaza ca asociatii/actionarii au acceptat obligatia de a-si mentine proprietatea asupra

capitalului social al Clientului si de a nu adopta o hotarâre de reorganizare, fuziune sau divizare, in conformitate cu

acest articol si cu respectarea prevederilor legale si ca nu exista impedimente de natura sa determine nerespectarea

acestei obligatii fata de Banca. q. daca garantia este constituita asupra autovehicolelor achizitionate din credit, sa depuna la Banca cartea/ cartile de

identitate in original, in termen de maxim 30 (treizeci) de zile calendaristice de la data acordarii creditului; daca

garantia este constituita asupra oricaror alte autovehicole, cartea de identitate in original se va prezenta cel târziu la

data primei trageri din credit;

r. sa pastreze in fiinta Conturile asupra carora a constituit garantii reale mobiliare in favoarea Bancii, pe toata durata

Documentelor de Finantare si sa nu constituie sau sa inregistreze nici o alta garantie cu privire la aceste Conturi

decât cu acordul prealabil expres in scris al Bancii. s. sa prezinte in termen de 30 de zile de la data tragerii factura finala (in cazul in care tragerea s-a efectuat pe baza

de factura proforma)

t. sa permita si sa faciliteze examinarea de catre reprezentantii sau imputernicitii Bancii a activitatii, documentelor

si/sau arhivelor si/sau bunurilor Clientului si/sau Garantului, care au legatura cu Documentele de Finantare. In acest

sens, Banca va putea, oricând va considera necesar, sa reevalueze, faptic si/sau scriptic, oricare si toate bunurile

Clientului si/sau Garantului asupra carora este constituit un drept de garantie in favoarea Bancii u. sa nu modifice (prin demolare, construire extindere, etc.), fara acordul prealabil scris al Bancii si fara obtinerea

autorizatiilor/avizelor cerute de lege, imobilele aduse in garantie, in acest sens urmând a fi notate interdictii in Cartea

funciara a imobilelor. v. sa efectueze modificarile imobilelor aduse in garantie in termenul de valabilitate al autorizatiei de construire si cu

respectarea intocmai a acesteia, sa prezinte Bancii procesul-verbal de receptie la terminarea lucrarilor si, daca este

cazul, documentatia cadastrala ce atesta modificarea imobilelor, sa intabuleze in Cartea funciara drepturile dobândite

asupra constructiilor noi si/sau asupra modificarilor intervenite la constructiile ipotecate (in termen de 30 de zile de la

procesul-verbal de receptie la terminarea lucrarilor) si sa prezinte Bancii dovada extinderii dreptului de ipoteca al

Bancii si asupra acestora (in termen maxim de 30 de zile calendaristice de la data intabularii).

w. sa constituie ipoteci asupra altor imobile, sau sa inlocuiasca ipotecile imobiliare constituite ca accesorii ale

Documentelor de Finantare, in conditiile prevazute la pct. 7.13.6.

x. sa incaseze in conturile anume deschise la Banca indemnizatia de asigurare sau suma datorata cu titlu de

despagubire in cazul pieirii sau deteriorarii oricaruia dintre bunurile ipotecate, intelegând ca asupra acestor sume

ipoteca se stramuta de drept in temeiul art. 2330 Cod Civil. Clientul solicita Bancii sa utilizeze aceste sume de bani

exclusiv pentru rambursarea anticipata partiala sau integrala a creditului/facilitatii pentru garantarea carora au fost

aduse in garantie bunurile ipotecate. Clientul a inteles si este de acord ca aceste sume nu pot ramâne la dispozitia sa

si nu pot fi utilizate in alt scop. 7.2.2. La incheierea oricarui Contract de facilitate/Cereri specifice Clientul declara si se angajeaza, irevocabil

si neconditionat, urmatoarele: a. va utiliza suma pusa la dispozitie de Banca exclusiv cu respectarea termenilor si conditiilor Contractului de

facilitate/Cererii specifice si ca Proiectul astfel finantat este conceput si implementat cu respectarea factorilor de

mediu si, totodata, ca mijloacele utilizate pentru implementarea Proiectului, sunt in concordanta cu toate

reglementarile legale privind protectia mediului, sanatatea si siguranta nationala; b. pe toata durata Contractului de facilitate/Cererii specifice, va respecta standardele si legislatia nationala cu

privire la: (i) mediu; (ii) consultare publica; (iii) ocuparea fortei de munca (incluzând fara a se limita la securitatea si

siguranta muncii, angajarea minorilor, munca fortata, practici nediscriminatorii la angajarea personalului si libertatea

asocierii si a negocierilor colective). 7.3. Declaratiile Clientului 7.3.1. Prin prezenta, Clientul recunoaste expres ca declaratiile sale, astfel cum sunt acestea prevazute mai jos, sunt

esentiale pentru ca Banca sa ii acorde oricare facilitate de credit/finantare bancara/Angajament 7.3.2. Clientul declara si garanteaza Bancii, la semnarea oricarui Contract de facilitate si in orice moment al

derularii acestuia, urmatoarele:

a. este infiintat si isi desfasoara activitatea in conformitate cu legile aplicabile si are capacitatea juridica deplina de a se obliga prin Documentele de Finantare si de a utiliza facilitatea si a obtinut

toate aprobarile necesare perfectarii valabile a Documentelor de Finantare si, prin urmare, Documentele de

Finantare sunt deplin executorii, in conformitate cu termenii acestora. b. orice documente predate Bancii sunt originale sau copii dupa originale, nu au fost modificate prin acte ulterioare si

reflecta intocmai si complet realitatea la momentul predarii lor, precum si ca, de la data predarii, nu au intervenit

situatii de fapt care sa influenteze organizarea si functionarea sa. c. situatiile sale financiar contabile au fost efectuate in conformitate cu principiile si practicile contabile general

acceptate in România, aplicate in mod consecvent si reprezinta cu acuratete situatia financiara a Clientului la data la

care se raporteaza, iar rezultatele operatiunilor sale pe perioada exercitiului contabil sunt din acea data si nu s-a

produs nici o modificare contrara acestei situatii de la acea data, modificare care la o apreciere obiectiva, ar putea

afecta negativ, in mod important capacitatea Clientului de a indeplini obligatiile prevazute in Documentele de

Finantare. d. nu au fost initiate proceduri judiciare, extrajudiciare sau administrative impotriva sa sau a proprietatii sale, nu s-au

pronuntat hotarâri judecatoresti, ordonante de sechestru sau de poprire, act de incepere a executarii silite sau alta

procedura similara, si, dupa cunostinta sa, nici nu este amenintat cu inceperea unor astfel de proceduri care ar fi de

natura a influenta negativ in mod semnificativ afacerile Clientului, situatia sa financiara sau juridica ori capacitatea de

a-si indeplini obligatiile asumate prin Documentele de Finantare. e. toate rapoartele si declaratiile de impunere prevazute de lege au fost depuse in mod corespunzator si au fost

platite toate impozitele, taxele, sarcinile si alte obligatii banesti in sarcina Clientului, ajunse la scadenta. f. semnarea de catre Client a Documentelor de Finantare si executarea obligatiilor asumate prin acestea,nu incalca

sau nu intra in conflict cu dispozitiile legale sau statutare sau cu obligatii asumate de Client prin acte incheiate cu

tertii. g. nu exista documente sau stari de fapt, altele decât cele la care se face referire in Documentele de Finantare, care

sa nu fi fost dezvaluite Bancii si care sa fi putut sau ar putea avea efecte semnificative in privinta deciziei Bancii de

acordare sau de mentinere a facilitatii de credit. h. atât Clientul, cât si activitatea sa sau oricare dintre operatiunile si/sau activele sale nu sunt supuse nici unui proces

in curs de desfasurare sau altei actiuni in legatura cu probleme de mediu, de sanatate sau de siguranta publica,

initiate de o autoritate publica, persoana juridica sau persoana fizica. Clientul intelege si se angajeaza sa notifice

Banca in situatia in care intervine o modificare in legatura cu oricare din aspectele mentionate anterior;

i. Declaratiile si garantarile prevazute mai sus: - Nu se vor aplica actelor sau faptelor juridice comunicate Bancii si acceptate de aceasta, si - Se considera a fi asumate inainte de contractarea oricarei facilitati de credit/finantari bancare si vor ramâne valabile

oricând pe toata durata Contractului de facilitate si, in special, vor fi considerate a fi mentinute de Client la data

fiecarei utilizari a Facilitatii, in legatura cu situatia existenta la momentul respectiv si pâna la momentul platii tuturor

sumelor datorate sau care ar putea deveni datorate Bancii in temeiul Contractului de facilitate, a oricarui alt

Document de Finantare si/sau in legatura cu acestea.

7.3.3. Declaratiile mentionate la pct.7.3.2. se aplica in mod corespunzator (mutatis mutandis) Codebitorului si Garantului. 7.4. Cazuri de Neindeplinire sau Culpa 7.4.1. Oricare din urmatoarele aspecte/situatii va constitui un “Caz de Neindeplinire sau Culpa”: a. Clientul nu plateste la scadenta sumele datorate conform fiecarui Contract de facilitate si/sau orice alte sume

datorate si avute in vedere de Documentele de Finantare.

b. Clientul si/sau Codebitorul si/sau Garantul incalca oricare prevedere a oricarui Document de Finantare, inclusiv

nerespectarea Angajamentelor asumate de catre oricare dintre acestia conform prezentelor CGB si a oricarui

Contract de facilitate. c. Clientul utilizeaza facilitatea in alte scopuri decât cele stabilite prin oricare dintre Contractele de facilitate si/sau

prin oricare alt Document de Finantare.

d. Oricare declaratie sau garantare a Clientului si/sau a Codebitorului si/sau a Garantului data conform

Documentelor de Finantare este sau se dovedeste a fi neadevarata sau incorecta la orice moment sau

Clientul/Codebitorul/Garantul a omis sa dezvaluie un fapt sau o imprejurare care, intr-o apreciere rezonabila, ar fi

putut influenta hotarârea Bancii de a acorda/mentine respectiva facilitate de credit/finantare bancara, dupa caz,

respectivul Angajament.

e. Oricare din garantiile constituite potrivit Documentelor de Finantare va deveni, in opinia Bancii, nesatisfacatoare

pentru a acoperi valoarea oricaror utilizari din facilitatea de credit/finantarea bancara si/ sau sumele datorate sau care

ar putea fi datorate conform Contractului de facilitate si/sau oricaror alte Documente de Finantare ori daca

garantia va inceta sa existe. f. O obligatie a Clientului asumata fata de Banca sau fata de terti (incluzând, fara a se limita la institutii de credit,

societati de leasing, institutii financiare nonbancare, etc) nu este platita/executata la scadenta, sau devine

platibila/executabila sau poate deveni platibila/executabila inainte de scadenta. g. Clientul incepe negocieri cu tertii creditori (societati bancare, de leasing, institutii financiare nonbancare, etc) in

scopul reesalonarii unor obligatii financiare, reesalonare care ar putea afecta negativ capacitatea Clientului de a

indeplini obligatiile asumate printr-un Contract de facilitate si/sau prin oricare alte Documente de Finantare, sau

inceteaza plata obligatiilor sale. h. Se inainteaza o cerere, se adopta o hotarâre sau este declansata procedura de faliment sau reorganizare judiciara

a Clientului, sau este emisa o notificare prin care este convocata o adunare generala cu scopul adoptarii unei astfel

de hotarâri, sau Clientul isi schimba, isi inceteaza sau este pe punctul de a-si inceta activitatea sau o parte importanta

a acesteia, de natura sa afecteze negativ indeplinirea obligatiilor asumate de Client printr-un Contract de facilitate

si/sau prin oricare alte Documente de Finantare si/sau in legatura cu acestea. i. Clientul devine insolvabil sau incapabil sa isi plateasca datoriile la scadenta sau este de acord cu numirea unui

custode sau administrator special pentru toate sau pentru o parte din bunurile sale, sau un astfel de custode sau

administrator special este numit, sau valoarea bunurilor Clientului este mai mica decât suma obligatiilor sale, efective

si potentiale. j. Orice hotarâre judecatoreasca, ordonanta de sechestru sau de poprire, incheiere de incepere a executarii silite sau

alta procedura similara asupra oricaruia dintre bunurile Clientului este emisa, instituita sau pusa in executare, sau

Clientul a gajat, ipotecat sau in alt mod a grevat cu sarcini, a vândut, a schimbat ori a dispus in orice alt mod de orice

bun asupra caruia Clientul a constituit un drept de garantie in favoarea Bancii, fara acordul prealabil scris al Bancii, un

astfel de act fiind considerat de catre Banca si Client prin prezenta clauza ca punând in pericol respectivele garantii

si/sau ca generând riscul obiectiv al impiedicarii platii, perspectiva platii considerându-se a fi pusa in pericol.

k. Se initiaza impotriva Clientului orice procedura administrativa, judiciara sau arbitrala care, in opinia Bancii, ar putea

avea un efect negativ semnificativ asupra afacerilor Clientului sau asupra capacitatii acestuia de a indeplini obligatiile

asumate printr-un Contract de facilitate si/sau prin oricare alt Document de Finantare. l. Un drept al Bancii stabilit conform prevederilor unui Contract de facilitate si/sau oricaror alte Documente de

finantare inceteaza sa mai fie in vigoare sau se hotaraste ca este ori devine lipsit de valabilitate si aplicabilitate, ori

este contestat. m. Apare un eveniment sau o situatie cu caracter politic, social, economic sau de alta natura care, in opinia

rezonabila a Bancii, poate afecta semnificativ in mod negativ situatia financiara, de afaceri, activele sau activitatea

Clientului sau capacitatea acestuia de a indeplini in mod corespunzator obligatiile asumate conform prevederilor unui

Contract de facilitate si/sau oricaror alte Documente de finantare, inclusiv modificarea, revocarea, retragerea,

suspendarea, expirarea oricarei autorizatii, aprobari, acord, licente, exceptari, termen de depunere, inregistrari sau a

altor conditii care fac posibila indeplinirea de catre Client a obligatiilor asumate potrivit prevederilor unui Contract de

facilitate si/sau oricaror alte Documente de finantare n. Nu este respectata de catre Client orice masura impusa de Banca in urma unei Revizii efectuate in conformitate

cu prevederile unui Contract de facilitate. o. Diminuarea cu rea credinta de catre Client a valorii activelor prin instrainarea altor bunuri, neconservarea valorii

activelor (inclusiv cele ce fac obiectul garantiilor) sau inlocuirea acestora cu bunuri de acelasi fel, dar având calitati

inferioare si/sau uzura mai mare. p. Neasigurarea bunurilor aduse in garantie, nementinerea in vigoare a politei de asigurare, neasigurarea fondurilor

necesare acoperirii primelor de asigurare si a taxelor de inscriere si conservare a rangului garantiilor, precum si

necesionarea in favoarea Bancii a politelor de asigurare daca aceasta obligatie era prevazuta in contract. q. Revocarea mandatului acordat Bancii pentru consultarea Centralei Riscurilor de Credit potrivit prevederilor unui

Contract de facilitate si/sau ale oricarui alt Document de Finantare.

7.4.2 Clientul si Codebitorul declara ca au fost informati si accepta caracterul de conditie esentiala pentru încheierea

valabilă si, respectiv, executarea oricaror Documente de finantare, a conduitei contractuale, precum si a obligatiilor a

caror încalcare de catre acestia este calificata drept Caz de Neindeplinire sau Culpa; de asemenea, Clientul si

Codebitorul se obliga reciproc sa aduca la indeplinire oricare dintre obligatiile ce fac obiectul actelor comisive sau

omisive calificate drept Cazuri de Neindeplinire sau Culpa, indiferent daca acestea sunt stipulate in sarcina lui proprie

sau in sarcina celuilalt, aceasta fiind o conditie esentiala pentru Banca pentru incheierea si executarea prezentului

contract, a carui neindeplinire reprezinta Caz de Neindeplinire sau Culpa. 7.5. Drepturile Bancii in situatia aparitiei unui Caz de Neindeplinire sau Culpa. Scadenta anticipata 7.5.1. In

cazul aparitiei/mentinerii oricaruia dintre Cazurile de Neindeplinire sau Culpa, Banca poate decide, de plin drept si

fara indeplinirea altor formalitati judiciare sau extrajudiciare, luarea oricareia sau oricarora dintre masurile de mai jos:

a. Sa acorde o perioada de 5 (cinci) zile bancare pentru remedierea situatiei sau situatiilor care au constituit Cazul de Neindeplinire sau Culpa (“Perioada de Remediere”), si, in cazul in care o astfel de remediere nu are loc

intr-o maniera satisfacatoare pentru Banca in interiorul Perioadei de Remediere, sa declare facilitatea de

credit/finantarea bancara exigibila imediat sau la o anumita data stabilita de Banca (moment in care sumele utilizate

din facilitatea de credit/finantarea bancara devin platibile anticipat impreuna cu dobânzile acumulate si cu orice alte

sume datorate de Client la acel moment conform prevederilor Contractului de facilitate si/sau oricaror alte

Documente de finantare). b. Sa suspende dreptul Clientului de a utiliza facilitatea de credit pe toata perioada in care se mentine Cazul de

Neindeplinire sau Culpa.

c. Sa declare facilitatea de credit/finantarea bancara exigibila imediat sau la o anumita data stabilita de Banca. La

declararea exigibilitatii imediate sumele utilizate din facilitatea de credit devin platibile anticipat impreuna cu dobânzile

acumulate si cu orice alte sume datorate de Client la acel moment conform Contractului de facilitate/ oricarui alt

Document de Finantare si/sau oricarui alt document in legatura cu acestea. d. Sa declare ca orice parte neutilizata din facilitatea de credit/finantarea bancara este anulata, moment in care

obligatiile Bancii vor inceta in totalitate. e. Sa isi exercite toate sau oricare dintre drepturile sale conform prevederilor cuprinse in Contractul de facilitate

si/sau in orice alt Document de Finantare.

7.5.2. De la momentul declararii scadentei anticipate si pâna la plata efectiva, sumele datorate in temeiul sau in

legatura cu Contractul de facilitate si/sau oricare alt Document de Finantare, indiferent daca acestea se reflecta in

contul facilitatii de credit, in contul curent sau in oricare alt cont al Clientului, vor fi purtatoare de dobânzi

majorate/penalizatoare potrivit prevederilor respectivului Contract de facilitate si/sau prevederilor oricarui alt

Document de Finantare.

7.6. Situatii Neprevazute. Nedisponibilitatea Monedei Facilitatii. Costuri Majorate 7.6.1. Daca, din cauza oricaror schimbari aparute in legislatia actuala (incluzând acte ale unor autoritati de

reglementare sau judiciare) sau in interpretarea si aplicarea acesteia, inclusiv sub aspectul conditiilor de impozitare a

Bancii in legatura cu un Contract de facilitate si/sau cu oricare alt Document de Finantare, al crearii, aplicarii sau

modificarii oricaror rezerve, depozite sau cerinte similare sau al adecvarii capitalului ori al stabilirii de restrictii valutare,

este afectata modalitatea sau masura alocarii de catre Banca a resurselor de capital pentru indeplinirea obligatiilor

sale sau este afectata realizarea politicii si strategiei Bancii, economice si de piata, existente la data intervenirii unei

astfel de schimbari, si prin acestea, rezulta: a. impunerea de costuri noi sau cresterea costurilor Bancii rezultând din sau in legatura cu Contractul de facilitate

si/sau cu oricare alt Document de Finantare, sau

b. limitarea partiala sau totala, temporara sau definitiva a Bancii de a oferi clientilor existenti sau potentiali produsele

si serviciile bancare, in termenii si conditiile valabile anterior intervenirii schimbarii (inclusiv, fara a se limita la moneda

produselor si serviciilor bancare respective), fara ca Banca sa efectueze vreo modificare, de orice natura, in situatia

sa juridica, economica sau financiara si sub conditia ca o astfel de modificare sa nu aiba caracter imperativ, atunci,

(i) in cazul prevazut in punctul 7.6.1.(a), Clientul datoreaza si va plati imediat Bancii, la cererea acesteia motivata, dar

nu mai târziu de 5 (cinci) zile bancare de la data solicitarii, sumele reprezentând costurile suplimentare care, in opinia

Bancii sa compenseze Banca pentru aceste pierderi si, (ii) in cazul prevazut in punctul 7.6.1.(b), Banca va avea optiunea exclusiva si neingradita de a schimba automat

moneda facilitatii de credit intr-o alta moneda, utilizând cursul de schimb al Bancii din ziua schimbarii dintr-o moneda

in alta, si de a stabili noile costuri, speze, comisioane standard si speciale valabile pentru derularea facilitatii de credit

in noua moneda, printr-o simpla notificare adresata Clientului. 7.6.2. In cazul prevazut la punctul 7.6.1 (ii), Clientul poate alege intre: a. rambursarea anticipata integrala, in termen de 5 (cinci) zile bancare de la data primirii notificarii, a tuturor sumelor

datorate Bancii in conformitate cu si in conditiile din respectivul Contract de facilitate si/sau din oricare alt Document

de Finantare, sau b. continuarea relatiei de creditare cu Banca in noile conditii comunicate de Banca prin notificarea trimisa in conditiile

prezentei sectiuni.

7.6.3. Rambursarea partiala sau nerambursarea tuturor sumelor datorate Bancii, in termenul mentionat mai sus,

inseamna acceptul neconditionat al Clientului de a continua relatia de creditare cu Banca in noile conditii. 7.7. Angajamente potentiale ale Clientului fata de Banca 7.7.1. Deschiderea de acreditive, emiterea de scrisori de garantie bancara, avalizarea de efecte de comert (numite in

prezentul document “Angajament”) se va face in baza unei cereri, in forma prevazuta de reglementarile Bancii

Nationale a României, sau in orice alta forma ceruta/acceptata de Banca. In cazul in care instructiunile Clientului de

emitere a unui Angajament de catre Banca sunt susceptibile de a da nastere la interpretari sau neclaritati, Banca

poate refuza disponibilizarea sa in forma propusa, poate negocia o alta forma, sau poate sa solicite Clientului

declaratii si garantii suplimentare, menite sa clarifice mandatul acordat Bancii si conditiile in care acesta va efectua

plata in baza respectivului Angajament, dupa caz. Clientul autorizeaza prin prezenta in mod irevocabil Banca sa

se conformeze oricarei cereri de plata facute in baza si in conditiile unui Angajament si sa faca orice plata astfel

solicitata fara a mai fi nevoie de instructiuni, confirmari sau verificari din partea Clientului.

7.7.2. Clientul intelege si accepta ca, potrivit uzantelor bancare si reglementarilor specifice aplicabile, Banca este

autorizata sa efectueze plata solicitata in conditiile Angajamentului indiferent daca Clientul contesta pretentia sau

cererea respectiva, si ca Banca nu este tinuta a face nici un fel de investigatii sau aprecieri asupra justificarii pretentiei

sau cererii beneficiarului unor astfel de Angajamente sau asupra valabilitatii, veridicitatii sau exactitatii oricaror

declaratii sau documente primite de Banca in legatura cu respectivul Angajament.

Clientul autorizeaza prin prezenta in mod irevocabil Banca sa se conformeze oricarei cereri de plata facute in

baza si in conditiile unui Angajament si sa faca orice plata astfel solicitata fara a mai fi nevoie de instructiuni,

confirmari sau verificari din partea Clientului. 7.7.3. Banca va instiinta prompt Clientul asupra oricarei plati (integrale sau partiale) efectuate in baza Angajamentului.

7.7.4. Clientul va putea sa instructeze Banca sa efectueze plata in baza acreditivului chiar daca documentele nu

corespund intocmai celor mentionate in acreditiv, caz in care Banca va fi absolvita de obligatia de verificare a

documentelor insa Banca va putea sa se conformeze sau sa ignore aceste instructiuni, la libera sa apreciere. Clientul

va datora Bancii orice sume platite de aceasta in temeiul Angajamentului (indiferent daca acestea reprezinta plati

partiale sau integrale), de la data la care Banca a efectuat orice asemenea plati (data care se va considera a fi data

scadentei), indiferent daca Clientul a fost sau nu notificat in prealabil asupra efectuarii de catre Banca a platii

respectivelor sume. Neplata la scadenta a sumelor astfel datorate va atrage dupa sine calcularea si incasarea de

dobânzi penalizatoare la nivelul stabilit de Banca. Clientul renunta la toate drepturile de subrogare si este de acord sa

nu invoce nici o compensare sau contrapretentie impotriva beneficiarului oricarui Angajament, pâna la momentul la

care Banca a primit plata integrala a tuturor obligatiilor datorate Bancii in legatura cu Angajamentul.

Daca Clientul solicita Bancii prelungirea sau reinnoirea unui Acreditiv sau prelungirea unei Scrisori de garantie, Banca

va putea (fara insa a fi obligata) sa dea curs respectivei solicitari in conditiile pe care le va considera, la libera sa

apreciere, adecvate. 7.8. Scontarea efectelor de comert si a altor instrumente negociabile. Cumpararea de creante Daca Banca este de acord sa incheie acorduri de scont cu Clientul sau orice alte finantari care implica cumpararea de

catre Banca a instrumentelor negociabile si/sau a creantelor, in absenta unor altfel de intelegeri cu Banca, Clientul

garanteaza prin prezentul document plata integrala, la scadenta, a tuturor acestor instrumente sau creante scontate

sau cumparate de catre Banca in baza acestor acorduri.

7.9. Rambursarea facilitatilor de credit/ finantarilor bancare/Angajamentelor 7.9.1. Rambursarea sumelor datorate de Client in baza Contractelor de facilitate/Cererilor specifice se va efectua

in moneda in care aceastea au fost acordate; 7.9.2. Daca in Contractul de facilitate nu se prevede altfel, Clientul poate rambursa creditul in avans partial/

integral, daca notifica Bancii intentia sa in prealabil, in scris si plateste, daca este cazul, comisioanele aferente.

7.9.3. Orice rambursare partiala in avans va diminua corespunzator soldul creditului si implicit valoarea ratelor de

credit incepând cu prima rata de plata de dupa plata partiala in avans, cu exceptia situatiei in care rata de credit este

calculata ca anuitate când prima rata lunara scadenta dupa efectuarea unei plati partiale in avans ramâne

nemodificata. Dobânda se va calcula la noul sold al creditului, iar valoarea sumelor lunare de rambursat (rata

creditului) se va modifica automat in mod corespunzator. 7.9.4. La data rambursarii in avans, Clientul datoreaza si dobânzile acumulate de la data ultimei rambursari pâna la

data efectuarii rambursarii anticipate, precum si oricare alte sume scadente si neachitate datorate conform

prevederilor respectivului Contract de facilitate. 7.9.5. La scadenta oricaror sume datorate în baza unui Contract de facilitate, Clientul/Codebitorul este/sunt de

drept în întârziere din ziua ulterioara datei scadentei, fara nici o alta formalitate prealabila.

7.9.6. Daca in contul curent mentionat in Contractul de facilitate si desemnat ca fiind Contul din care se face

rambursarea sumelor acordate de Banca (capitalul) si plata a dobânzilor, a comisioanelor si a oricaror altor sume, de

orice natura, datorate de Client Bancii, nu exista la scadenta obligatiilor disponibil suficient pentru stingerea

acestora, atunci Banca, la libera sa alegere: (i) fie va decide sa aplice dispozitiile pct.3.4. din CGB avansând Clientului si incasând din Cont suma necesara

achitarii obligatiilor scadente de plata sub forma unei facilitati overdraft non-revolving, pentru care Titularul datoreaza

dobânda de overdraft neautorizat, (ii) fie va avea dreptul, dar nu si obligatia, de a debita automat orice alt Cont al Clientului si/sau orice Cont al

Codebitorului, indiferent moneda contului (de disponibilitati sau de depozit, chiar neajuns la termen), cu suma

corespunzatoare in scopul efectuarii platilor datorate, fiind autorizata de Client si de Codebitor in acest sens prin

semnarea oricaror Documente de finantare. 7.9.7. In cazul in care in Banca actioneaza conform pct.7.9.6.(ii), Clientul/Codebitorul este de acord si

imputerniceste Banca sa efectueze in numele si pe seama acestuia schimbul valutar, daca este cazul, utilizând

propriile cotatii valabile la data operatiunii si sa completeze documentele aferente acestei operatiuni. Eventualele

diferente de curs valutar vor fi suportate de Client/Codebitor. Daca in urma schimbului valutar efectuat de Banca si a

platii comisioanelor si altor taxe aferente schimbului valutar, suma rezultata din schimb nu acopera intreaga creanta

datorata de Client Bancii, Clientul va ramâne in continuare obligat la plata diferentei ramase. 7.9.8. Datele de rambursare (scadentele ratelor de credit) prevazute in Contracte de facilitate si/sau in Grafice de

rambursare aferente acestora, nu vor aduce atingere drepturilor Bancii de a declara scadenta anticipata a creditului,

potrivit prevederilor prezentelor CGB si Contractului de facilitate. 7.9.9. In cazul in care o obligatie de rambursare/de plata sau de alta natura devine scadenta intr-o zi care nu este

lucratoare, scadenta va fi considerata a fi ziua lucratoare ulterioara acesteia. 7.9.10. Clientul accepta ca odata efectuata, oricare tragere din credit nu poate fi rambursata in aceeasi zi. 7.10. Moneda facilitatii de credit/finantarii bancare/Angajamentului 7.10.1. Orice suma datorata de catre Client Bancii in baza unui Contract de facilitate/Cerere specifica, a oricarui

alt Document de Finantare si/sau in legatura cu acestea, indiferent daca aceastea reprezinta capitalul, dobânzi,

comisioane, speze sau alte costuri si daca aceasta se reflecta in contul facilitatii, in contul curent sau in orice alt cont

al Clientului, va fi platita in moneda/monedele in care a fost utilizata facilitatea, dupa caz, in moneda/monedele in care

a fost platita/inregistrata de catre Banca finantarea bancara, fara nici o deducere sau retinere.

7.10.2. In cazul in care, din orice motiv, inclusiv urmare a executarii silite, Banca va incasa astfel de plati in alta

moneda decât cea in care trebuie facuta plata, Clientul va despagubi Banca pentru toate pierderile acesteia aparute

ca urmare a unor diferente intre suma datorata de Client in moneda facilitatii de credit/finantarii

bancare/Angajamentului si cea pe care Banca o incaseaza efectiv dupa efectuarea schimbului sumelor incasate in

alta moneda. 7.10.3. Prin prezenta, Clientul cunoaste riscurile de curs valutar pe care le implica acordarea de facilitati de

credit/finantari bancare/Angajamentului in valuta si care pot aparea pe intreaga perioada de finantare si isi asuma

intreaga responsabilitate cu privire la orice pierderi pe care le-ar putea suferi urmare acestora, obligându-se sa

asigure in conturile sale, deschise la Banca sumele in LEI si/sau in orice alte valute necesare rambursarii facilitatii sau

platii oricaror altor sume datorate conform prevederilor Contractului de facilitate/ Cereii sprecifice, a oricaror alte

Documente de finantare si/sau in legatura cu acestea. 7.11. Costurile creditului 7.11.1. Pentru sumele acordate, Clientul datoreaza si va plati Bancii dobânzile, taxele si comisioanele prevazute in

Contractele de facilitate/ Cererile specifice si/sau in oricare alte Documente de finantare

in legatura cu acestea. 7.11.2. Nivelul costurilor datorate de Client cu titlu de penalizare, prevazute in documentele mentionate anterior

este considerat a fi un nivel maxim, acesta neputând fi majorat unilateral de catre Banca. In consecinta, costurile

datorate de Client cu titlu de penalizare se vor calcula conform clauzelor prevazute in Contractele de

facilitate/Cererilor specifice prin aplicarea, dupa caz, a valorilor fixe, respectiv a formulelor de calcul stabilite in

contract, putând interveni doar majorari ca urmare a variatiilor indicilor variabili prevazuti in formulele de calcul ale

respectivelor costuri (ex. Ratele de referinta). 7.11.3. Clientul este de acord ca Banca poate decide oricând pe durata derularii facilitatii de credit/finantarii

bancare/Angajamentului: (i) diminuarea nivelului costurilor datorate de Client cu titlu de penalizare prevazute in

Contractele de facilitate/Cererile specifice si/sau (ii) stabilirea de niveluri de costuri pe transe in functie de

evenimentele care genereaza penalizarea (spre ex. nivele diferite de taxe /dobânda penalizatoare in functie de

numarul de zile de intârziere la plata). 7.11.4. Orice modificare a costurilor datorate de Client cu titlu de penalizare efectuata conform pct.7.11.3 va fi

comunicata Clientului conform pct.2.3.1 (ii), daca in Contractul de facilitate nu este reglementata o alta modalitate de

notificare. 7.11.5. Nivelurile taxelor si comisioanelor stabilite in cuprinsul Contractelor de Facilitate/Cererilor specifice si/sau al

oricarui alt Document de Finantare, in vigoare la data incheierii acestora, vor putea fi modificate de catre Banca in

conditiile pct.2.3.1(ii), daca in cuprinsul documentelor amintite anterior nu se prevede contrariul 7.11.6. Evenimente de Discontinuitate a Pietei. Drepturile Bancii in cazul aparitiei unui Eveniment de

Discontinuitate a Pietei

a) La aparitia oricarui Eveniment de Discontinuitate a Pietei, pentru calculul Ratei de dobânda (Rd), Rata de

Referinta va fi inlocuita cu Rata de Refinantare asa cum va fi aceasta stabilita de catre Banca. b) Oricare dintre urmatoarele situatii va constitui Eveniment de Discontinuitate a Pietei: in piata de dobânda relevanta nu exista cotatii ale valutei vizate la ora la care acestea sunt date in modobisnuit,

sau

costurile Bancii pentru finantarea Bancii pe piata monetara relevanta in moneda vizata depasesc cu mai multde

25 % nivelul Ratei de Referinta pentru o perioada de peste 30 de zile calendaristice consecutiv. c) Rata de Refinantare este determinata de Banca pe baza cotatiilor primite in piata interbancara disponibila acesteia

pentru obtinerea de imprumuturi in moneda relevanta.

d) Banca va avea obligatia sa notifice Clientului nivelul Ratei de Refinantare in cazul aparitiei unui Eveniment de

Discontinuitate a Pietei cu 3 (trei) Zile lucratoare inainte de data aplicarii acesteia (inclusiv cu privire la durata

Perioadei de Dobânda in cazul in care costul de refinantare din piata relevanta al Bancii impune modificarea

acesteia). Orice comunicare cu privire la modificari intervenite fata de Rata de Refinantare astfel cum a fost aceasta

notificata Clientului se va face in modalitatea stabilita prin respectiva notificare. e) Daca Clientul va notifica Banca cel mai târziu la ora 17.00 a Zilei Bancare anterioare datei aplicarii acesteia ca nu

accepta Rata de Refinantare asa cum aceasta a fost notificata de Banca, atunci:

Clientul trebuie sa ramburseze anticipat (imediat sau la un termen notificat de Banca) partea utilizata din

creditimpreuna cu dobânda acumulata care va fi calculata in concordanta cu paragraful d) de mai sus (incepând cu

inceputul unei astfel de Perioade de Dobânda pâna la data efectiva a rambursarii anticipate) si toate celelalte sume

datorate Bancii in baza contractului de credit, fara plata comisionului de rambursare anticipata; si Partea neutilizata din credit va fi anulata imediat. f) Daca Clientul nu transmite o notificare Bancii conform celor mai sus mentionate la paragraful e) de mai sus, Partile

considera ca a fost acceptata Rata de Refinantare notificata de Banca Clientului conform celor de mai sus. 7.12. Imputatia platii 7.12.1. Orice sume incasate de Banca de la Client in temeiul Contractelor de facilitate (inclusiv in cadrul unei

proceduri de executare silita) vor fi utilizate, daca Banca nu decide altfel, pentru acoperirea datoriilor scadente ale

Clientului, in urmatoarea ordine: a) cheltuieli cu procedurile de executare silita, b) cheltuieli pentru realizarea publicitatii/radierii garantiilor, c) comisioane, speze si alte costuri datorate Bancii conform prevederilor contractelor de facilitate de credit, d)

dobânzi penalizatoare, dobânzi restante, dobânzi curente,

e) suma utilizata de Client in baza Contractului de facilitate respectiv (principal/capital). 7.12.2. Obligatiile de plata mentionate la 7.12.1. lit. c), d), e) vor fi acoperite in ordinea scadentei. 7.12.3. In masura in care, prin orice reglementari nationale sau ale Uniunii Europene, se impune modificarea ordinii

de acoperire a datoriilor scadente ale Clientului, Banca va aplica in mod automat respectiva reglementare de la

intrarea acesteia in vigoare, fara sa mai fie necesara modificarea prezentelor CGB. 7.12.4. In cazul unui concurs intre obligatiile scadente de plata a sumelor datorate in baza mai multor

Contracte de facilitate garantate cu garantii reale si obligatiile scadente de plata a sumelor datorate in baza mai

multor Contracte de facilitate negarantate cu garantii reale, Banca are dreptul sa utilizeze cu prioritate

disponibilitatile existente in conturile Clientului/Codebitorului deschise la Banca (inclusiv conturi de depozit, chiar

neajunse la termen), in vederea stingerii obligatiilor de plata scadente aferente Contractelor de facilitate

negarantate cu garantii reale. 7.13. Garantii 7.13.1. Clientul este obligat sa constituie si/sau sa procure, la cererea Bancii, garantii considerate adecvate de catre

Banca pentru indeplinirea obligatiilor asumate de acesta prin diverse facilitati de credit acordate acestuia. Daca

garantia a devenit neadecvata, Clientul este obligat sa o suplimenteze sau sa o inlocuiasca, la cerere, in cazul in care

bunul ipotecat a fost distrus, deteriorat ori valoarea sa a fost diminuata in asa mod incât a devenit inferioara valorii

obligatiei ipotecare din culpa Clientului, iar bunul nu era asigurat ori asigurarea nu era valabila. 7.13.2. Pentru ipotecile imobiliare si/sau mobiliare constituite/procurate in favoarea Bancii de Client si/sau de

Garanti, Clientul va realiza pe cheltuiala sa, orice formalitati de publicitate sunt necesare pentru asigurarea

opozabilitatii garantiilor fata de terti, inclusiv formalitatile de modificare, reinnoire sau radiere a inscriptiilor/ avizelor de

garantie din registrele publice aferente. Ipotecile imobiliare se vor nota in Cartea Funciara. Ipotecile mobiliare se vor

nota in Arhiva Electronica de Garantii Reale Mobiliare. Costurile aferente ipotecilor mobiliare sunt in sarcina Clientului

in situatia in care Banca va comunica expres acestuia cuantumurile si termenele de plata. In cazul in care Clientul nu

isi respecta obligatia de plata a acestor costuri din Contul prin care se realizeaza rambursarea sumelor imprumutate,

Banca poate sa efectueze inregistrarile necesare in registrele publice si sa debiteze automat orice alt cont de

disponibilitati sau de depozit (chiar neajuns la termen) deschis pe numele Clientului la Banca cu sumele necesare

efectuând, daca este cazul, si schimbul valutar in numele si pentru Client, utilizând propriile cotatii si completând

documentele aferente acestei operatiuni, fiind autorizata in acest sens de Client. Eventualele diferente de curs valutar

vor fi suportate de Client. 7.13.3. Toate bunurile mobile, prezente si viitoare, incluzând disponibilitatile banesti din Conturi,orice bun primit

de catre Client in urma vânzarii, schimbului, prelucrarii, fructele si productele, precum si sumele incasate din asigurare

sau alta forma de administrare sau dispunere de acestea, inclusiv sumele obtinute din orice alte operatiuni ulterioare,

care sunt sau vor intra in posesia Bancii, sau a unui tert actionând in numele Bancii, in baza oricarui titlu si sub orice

forma, de la sau in beneficiul Clientului, indiferent de titlul lor, si care, la momentul actual sunt, sau vor deveni,

proprietatea Clientului, constituie garantia Bancii pentru orice obligatii prezente sau viitoare ale Clientului fata

de Banca decurgând din orice Contract de facilitate. 7.13.4. Clauza 7.13.3. valoreaza contract de garantie reala mobiliara asupra universalitatii bunurilor mobile ale

Clientului in conformitate cu prevederile Cartii a V-a, Titlul XI, Capitolul III din Codul civil. Valoarea maxima a

obligatiilor garantate este constituita din suma tuturor obligatiilor Clientului fata de Banca, determinate potrivit

prevederilor fiecarui Contract de facilitate. Banca are dreptul sa inscrie in Arhiva Electronica de Garantii Reale

Mobiliare, in favoarea sa, un aviz de garantie prin care va asigura ordinea de prioritate a garantiei. Clientul va suporta

toate costurile ocazionate de inregistrarile garantiei astfel constituita, in masura in care Banca ii va comunica expres

cuantumurile si termenele de plata. 7.13.5. Bunurile imobile si mobile corporale care fac obiectul ipotecilor constituite, aferente Documentelor de

Finantare, vor fi asigurate la o societate de asigurari acceptata de Banca, la o valoare asigurata egala cu

valoarea de piata a bunurilor respective, ce va fi consemnata corespunzator in cuprinsul contractului de asigurare (in

Polita de asigurare), cu exceptia cazului in care Banca, potrivit exclusiv optiunii sale, va accepta o valoare de

asigurare mai mica. 7.13.6. In cazul in care Banca va instiinta Clientul ca valoarea ipotecilor imobiliare constituite a scazut (din orice

motive, chiar independent de vointa partilor), neacoperind soldul creditului, dobânzile si comisioanele datorate

conform Documentelor de Finantare, sau ca au intervenit modificari in situatia juridica a acestor ipoteci de natura sa

impieteze asupra valorificarii lor, la cererea Bancii, Clientul trebuie sa aduca suplimentar in garantie alte imobile,

sau sa inlocuiasca ipoteca/ipotecile imobiliare constituite ca accesorii ale Documentelor de Finantare, in conditiile

clauzei 7.13.1. de mai sus. 7.14. Scadente 7.14.1. Orice sume datorate Bancii de Client trebuie achitate la datele stabilite in Contractele specifice de credit

/facilitate de credit si, daca este cazul, in graficele de rambursare anexate acestora.

7.14.2. Orice suma care nu este platita la scadenta de Client (fara deosebire dupa cum scadenta este cea

specificata intr-un Contract de facilitate sau rezulta prin declararea scadentei anticipate sau in alt mod), indiferent

daca aceasta reprezinta suma principala acordata (capitalul), dobânda, comisioane, costuri sau speze conform

Contractului de facilitate sau in legatura cu acesta, ori daca aceasta se reflecta in contul curent sau in orice alt Cont

al Clientului, va atrage, dupa caz, plata de dobânzi majorate, taxe de rambursare intârziata, dobânzi penalizatoare,

pentru perioada incepand cu data scadentei si pâna la data platii integrale,

calculate prin aplicarea Ratei dobânzii majorate/Ratei dobânzii penalizatoare/valorii taxei de rambursare intârziata

prevazuta in Contractul specific de credit, fara ca aplicarea unor asemenea costuri sa prejudicieze alte drepturi sau

remedii conferite Bancii in temeiul Contractului de facilitate si legislatiei aplicabile. 7.15. Alte Costuri suportate de Client pentru facilitatile de credit/finantarile bancare/ Angajamentele acordate.

7.15.1. Toate costurile legate de constituirea, administrarea, modificarea, executarea garantiilor constituite/ procurate

Bancii de Client vor fi suportate de acesta. 7.15.2. In cazul aparitiei unui Caz de Neindeplinire sau Culpa, Clientul va despagubi Banca pentru orice cheltuiala

sau pierdere suferita de Banca datorata neexecutarii/executarii necorespunzatoare de catre Client a oricareia din

obligatiile ce ii revin conform Documentelor de finantare si va plati Bancii, la solicitarea acesteia, toate costurile si

cheltuielile inregistrate sau efectuate de catre Banca (incluzând, fara a se limita la, cheltuieli de evaluare, consultanta,

traducere, administrare, onorarii avocatiale, cheltuieli de executare silita, etc.) in legatura cu tranzactiile realizate in

baza sau in legatura cu Documentele de finantare sau in legatura cu acordarea si/sau recuperarea unui

credit/angajament. 7.15.3. Clientul va indemniza Banca, la cerere, in orice moment, impotriva tuturor actiunilor legale pentru orice

prejudicii, costuri si cheltuieli de orice natura in legatura cu un Contract de facilitate si/sau cu oricare alt Document

de Finantare si va restitui Bancii toate sumele platite (direct, prin compensare sau in orice alt mod). Clientul va

despagubi Banca si pentru toate pierderile, costurile si cheltuielile suferite sau contractate conform sau in legatura cu

un Contract specific de credit.

7.15.4. Obligatiile de plata prevazute la 7.15.2. si 7.15.3. vor deveni scadente in maxim 5 (cinci) zile lucratoare de la

data primirii de catre Client a unei solicitari scrise a Bancii. 7.15.5. In cazul in care Clientul nu-si indeplineste oricare din obligatii, Banca va avea dreptul, in numele si pe

socoteala Clientului, sa faca toate platile necesare pentru perfectarea, finalizarea, inregistrarea legala, conservarea,

pastrarea si aplicarea drepturilor Bancii dintr-un Contract de facilitate si/sau din oricare alt Document de Finantare,

urmând ca Bancii sa-i fie restituite de catre Client toate sumele astfel platite.

7.16. Alte dispozitii in legatura cu creditele 7.16.1. Pâna la stingerea tuturor obligatiilor Clientului asumate printr-un Contract de facilitate si/sau prin orice alt

Document de Finantare, Clientul imputerniceste Banca, cu autoritate si puteri depline, pentru obtinerea de la

Centrala Riscurilor de Credit a Bancii Nationale a României a oricaror informatii de risc bancar cu privire la acesta,

ori de câte ori va fi considerat de catre Banca ca aceste informatii sunt necesare si/sau relevante. Pentru exercitarea

drepturilor acordate, Banca va intocmi, semna, transmite, perfecta si realiza, in numele si pentru Client, toate

inscrisurile, instrumentele, actele si operatiunile de orice natura care pot fi cerute de legea aplicabila incluzând, fara a

se limita la completarea, semnarea si utilizarea formularului standard “Acord de consultare a bazei de date a Centralei

Riscurilor de Credit” prevazut de Regulamentul nr.2/2014 privind organizarea si functionarea la Banca Nationala a

României a Centralei Riscurilor de Credit, emis de Banca Nationala a României, toate sau oricare dintre acestea fiind

recunoscute in mod expres de catre Client ca fiind emise in numele si pe seama sa. Dovada deplina a existentei

acestei imputerniciri se va putea face de Banca prin prezentarea unui exemplar din Contractul specific de credit in

care se face mentiunea ca respectivul contract se completeaza cu prevederile CGB.

7.16.2. Oriunde in cuprinsul unui Contract de facilitate si/sau al oricarui alt Document de Finantare, referirea la

termenele exprimate in zile va avea in vedere zile lucratoare, daca nu se precizeaza altfel, iar in calcul vor fi cuprinse

atât ziua de inceput cât si cea de sfârsit a termenului. 7.16.3. Omisiunea, in tot sau in parte, precum si orice intârziere din partea Bancii de a exercita orice drepturi nascute

in baza unui Contract de facilitate si/sau a oricarui alt Document de Finantare, nu va impiedica Banca sa isi

exercite aceste drepturi si nu va fi considerata ca reprezentând o renuntare la acestea si, in nici un caz nu se va

prezuma acordul tacit al Bancii la orice rescadentare sau iertare de la plata unor sume datorate acesteia, cu exceptia

cazurilor in care se incheie in acest sens un Act Aditional la respectivul Contract de facilitate si/ sau Document de

Finantare, sau cu privire la neindeplinirea la timp de catre Client a obligatiilor contractuale. De asemenea, renuntarea

de catre Banca la indeplinirea oricarei conditii suspensive prevazute in oricare din Contractul de facilitate si/sau in

oricare alt Document de Finantare incheiat cu Clientii, nu va fi considerata ca reprezentând renuntarea din partea

Bancii la cerinta ca acea conditie sa fie indeplinita oricând ulterior. 7.16.4. Modificarile clauzelor Contractului de facilitate si/sau ale oricarui alt Document de Finantare se

efectueaza in baza acordului partilor, urmând a fi consemnate in Act Aditional, cu exceptia celor privind valoarea

ratelor de credit, Rata anuala a dobânzii si valoarea comisioanelor care se vor efectua de catre Banca, in conditiile

mentionate in documentele mentionate anterior, urmând a se inmâna, când este cazul, un nou grafic de rambursare la

cererea Clientului/Codebitorului/Garantului. 7.16.5. Banca nu va fi considerata raspunzatoare pentru pierderi sau prejudicii de orice natura suportate

direct sau indirect de catre Client ca urmare a neacordarii unui credit sau a neindeplinirii obligatiei de a pune

facilitatea de credit la dispozitia acestuia, ca urmare a unei erori sau intârzieri in instructiunile date de Client sau ca

urmare a unor alte fapte/acte ale acestuia. 8. DISPOZITII FINALE 8.1. Modificarea CGB si a Contractelor specifice. 8.1.1. Modificarile CGB si ale Contractelor specifice propuse de Banca sunt comunicate Clientului in modalitatea

prevazuta in Contractul specific fiecarui serviciu/produs sau in modalitatile prevazute la sectiunea 8.2. “Notificari”

daca in Contractul specific nu se reglementeaza modalitatea de notificare. 8.1.2. Banca si Clientul convin ca orice modificari ale CGB si/sau ale clauzelor din Contractele specifice propuse de

Banca, inclusiv cele cu privire la clauzele ce reglementeaza conditiile utilizarii instrumentelor de plata, ale derularii

operatiunilor de plata si ale functionarii Conturilor de plati, precum si drepturile si obligatiile partilor in legatura cu

acestea, vor fi notificate Clientului prin afisare în locuri special amenajate din incinta Bancii si/sau prin orice alte

mijloace de comunicare alese de Banca in conformitate cu art.8.2. si/sau in modalitatea de informare expres

prevazuta in Contractul specific. Clientul accepta ca dovada afisarii la sediile Bancii/pe pagina de Internet a

respectivelor modificari poate fi facuta de Banca prin orice mijloace de proba permise de lege. 8.1.3. Daca in termenul prevazut in Contractul specific, dupa caz, in termen de 5 (cinci) zile de la luarea la

cunostinta a modificarilor propuse (când in Contractul specific nu este prevazut un astfel de termen), dar nu mai

târziu de 30 (treizeci) de zile calendaristice de la data comunicarii modificarilor conform art.8.1.2., Clientul nu notifica

Bancii, in modalitatile prevazute in Contractele specifice sau in scris, la oricare dintre unitatile teritoriale ale Bancii

(când in Contractele specifice nu se reglementeaza modalitatea de notificare), intentia sa de incetare a raportului

juridic ce este afectat direct sau indirect de modificarea propusa de Banca, se prezuma ca tacerea Clientului

valoreaza acceptare tacita a modificarilor respective, daca prevederile legale in vigoare nu reglementeaza

contrariul. 8.1.4. Continuarea raporturilor contractuale dintre Banca si Client este posibila doar in conditiile acordului Clientului

(dupa caz, expres sau tacit) cu privire la continutul modificat al CGB, dupa caz, al Contractului specific. 8.2. Notificari 8.2.1. Orice solicitari, notificari, aprobari, comunicari (“Notificarea”) decurgând din prezentele CGB si/sau din

Contractele specifice incheiate intre Banca si Client, in absenta unor prevederi diferite in cuprinsul CGB/

Contractelor specifice, se vor face de catre Banca in scris. Banca poate alege, oricând pe durata relatiei

contractuale cu Clientul, oricare dintre urmatoarele modalitati pentru a aduce la cunostinta Clientului continutul unei

“Notificari”: (i) prin remitere personala; (ii) prin transmitere prin posta / fax / posta electronica /SMS-mesaj text, utilizând in acest scop adresa postala si/sau

de e-mail, respectiv numerele de contact fax/telefon mobil indicate de Client in cuprinsul documentelor puse de Banca

in acest scop la dispozitia Clientului; (iii) prin publicare in paginile de Internet ale Bancii (www.raiffeisen.ro / www.raiffeisenonline.ro) cu acces public sau,

dupa caz, cu acces restrictionat (in masura in care Banca are disponibil la data comunicarii un astfel de serviciu de

informare si au fost agreate cu Clientul conditiile de acces si de identificare a acestuia); (iv) prin mesaj postat in cadrul aplicatiiilor de internet-banking/ home-banking, pentru detinatorii unor astfel de servicii

furnizate de Banca.

Se considera ca prin ridicarea de catre Delegat a documentelor puse la dispozitia Clientului in unitatile bancii, Banca a

notificat Clientul prin remitere personala.

8.2.2. Notificarea sau orice alta comunicare este considerata primita de Client, in cazul remiterii personale - la

predare, in cazul transmiterii prin fax/e-mail/SMS - la data generarii raportului de remitere de aparatul utilizat pentru

transmitere, in cazul trimiterii postale – in termen de 3 zile lucratoare de la depunerea la oficiile postale/ de curierat

pentru trimiterile pe teritoriul României, respectiv in termenul garantat de prestatorii serviciilor de posta/curierat pentru

trimiterile in strainatate, iar in cazul publicarii pe pagina de Internet a Bancii ( www. raiffeisen.ro) sau direct in aplicatie

(www.raiffeisenonline.ro) la data publicarii. Clientul are obligatia de a ridica zilnic documentele puse la dispozitia

acestuia in unitatile Bancii. 8.2.3. Orice Notificare scrisa este considerata ca valabil expediata de Banca dupa caz, daca a fost expediata la

ultima adresa (postala si/sau de e-mail), respectiv la ultimele numere de contact (fax sau telefon mobil) comunicate

Bancii de catre Client, in cuprinsul documentelor puse de Banca la dispozitia Clientului in acest scop. 8.2.4. In cazul in care Clientul este compus din mai multe persoane/entitati, orice Notificare trimisa de Banca va fi

considerata trimisa catre fiecare dintre persoanele/entitatile ce alcatuiesc Clientul, daca este trimisa oricareia dintre ele. 8.2.5. Orice Notificare sau alta comunicare va fi trimisa de catre Client Bancii la unitatea teritoriala unde este inrolat,

prin remitere personala, prin posta si/sau prin fax. Orice Notificare remisa Bancii de catre Client va fi efectiva doar

din momentul primirii de catre Banca, iar fiecare Notificare transmisa prin fax va fi confirmata de expeditor printr-o

scrisoare originala fara ca aceasta regula sa afecteze valabilitatea sau eficacitatea transmiterii prin fax. 8.2.6. Orice Notificare primita de Banca intr-o zi dupa ora 16:00 a unei zile lucratoare, va fi considerata primita in ziua

lucratoare urmatoare. Exceptie de la aceasta fac operatiunile si documentele privind serviciile de plata carora le sunt

aplicabile Orele limita. 8.3. Legea aplicabila. Litigii. Limba contractului. 8.3.1. Relatiile dintre Banca si Client sunt guvernate de legislatia româna. Eventualele litigii se vor solutiona pe cale

amiabila. Când acest lucru nu este posibil, singurele competente pentru solutionarea acestor litigii sunt instantele

judecatoresti, în functie de normele procedurale în vigoare. 8.3.2. Actionând ca reclamant, Banca va putea, daca e cazul sa supuna litigiul spre solutionare nu numai în fata

instantelor române, dar si a uneia straine care are jurisdictie asupra Clientului.

8.3.3. In vederea solutionarii pe cale amiabila a eventualelor dispute privind serviciile de plata, Clientul poate sesiza

in conditiile legii Garda Financiara (autoritate de control cu sediul in Bucureşti, Piaţa Alba- Iulia nr.6, bloc I.5, sector

3. cod postal 031104, tel. o21/3165761, Fax :021/3165762 si/sau Banca Nationala a României (autoritate de

supraveghere cu sediul in Strada Lipscani nr. 25, sector 3, Bucuresti, cod 030031, CIF 361684, tel 021.313.04.10,

021.315.27.50), in vederea aplicarii procedurilor extrajudiciare de solutionare a disputelor. 8.3.4. Prezentele CGB sunt incheiate in limba româna; orice notificari sau comunicari decurgând din prezentul

contract se vor efectua in limba româna. 8.4. Restrictii si interdictii 8.4.1. Daca o lege interzice Clientului sa isi indeplineasca oricare din obligatiile sale asumate fata de Banca (sau

orice parte a respectivei obligatii) in valuta in care este stabilita, sau impiedica ca orice fonduri in acea valuta sa fie

remise Bancii, Clientul isi va indeplini obligatia (sau respectiva parte a acesteia) efectuând plata catre Banca (la

alegerea Bancii si in maniera indicata de catre Banca) in acea alta valuta pe care o va indica Banca. 8.4.2. Clientul va plati o suma suficienta in acea alta valuta astfel incat sa permita Bancii sa achizitioneze o suma

egala cu obligatia de plata a Clientului (sau respectiva parte a acesteia) in valuta in care aceasta este stabilita,

calculata la rata spot relevanta dupa cum va determina Banca. In acest scop, Banca va avea dreptul sa debiteze

oricare din conturile Clientului, la discretia sa, cu sumele datorate de acesta, fara a notifica in prealabil Clientul, iar

Clientul autorizeaza in mod expres Banca, prin prezenta, sa semneze ordinele de plata, instructiunile si alte

documente ce pot fi necesare pentru ca operatiunea mentionata mai sus sa fie efectuata integral si corespunzator. 8.5. Remedii cumulative si nu exclusive Fiecare dintre drepturile/remediile/garantiile acordate Bancii in baza prezentului document si/sau contractelor

specifice incheiate intre Banca si Client, vor putea fi exercitate/executate de Banca in ordinea aleasa de Banca, la

discretia sa totala, indiferent de data nasterii/constituirii acestor drepturi/remedii in favoarea sa, si vor fi aditionale

tuturor celorlalte drepturi si remedii acordate Bancii in virtutea oricarui alt acord, a oricarei alte garantii sau legi.

8.6. Deduceri sau retineri cerute de lege Daca o deducere sau retinere trebuie facuta, conform legii, dintr-o plata a Clientului catre Banca, Clientul va plati o

suma mai mare, astfel incât in urma oricarei astfel de deduceri sau retineri, Banca sa primeasca si sa beneficieze de

o suma neta egala cu suma pe care ar fi primit-o daca nu ar fi fost facuta nici o deducere sau retinere. 8.7. Cesiunea. Novatia. Transferul 8.7.1. Drepturile si obligatiile decurgând din prezentele CGB nu pot face obiectul cesiunii, novatiei sau transferului, de

catre nici una dintre parti.

8.7.2. In cazul in care Banca acorda Clientului orice credit/facilitate de credit, Banca poate cesiona sau transfera in

alt mod, oricare sau toate drepturile si beneficiile sale rezultând dintr-un Contract de facilitate de credit si/ sau din

Documentele de finantare, catre orice persoana, fara a fi necesar acordul Clientului. 8.7.3. Prin incheierea oricaror Contracte specifice de credit/Documente de finantare, Clientul isi exprima acordul

expres cu privire la novatia prin schimbare de creditor având ca obiect oricare din sau toate obligatiile asumate de

catre Banca prin contractele/documentele respective, incluzând, fara a se limita la, obligatia de a pune la dispozitia

Clientului fonduri, novatie care isi va produce efectele oricând Banca, la singura sa apreciere, va decide sa inceteze

calitatea sa de obligat prin Contractul de facilitate de credit si/sau prin Documentele de finantare; in acest sens,

Banca are dreptul de a-si substitui in oricare din sau toate obligatiile orice entitate din cadrul sau din afara

Raiffeisen Group, fiind suficienta numai incheierea unui acord intre Banca si entitatea pe care si-o substituie.

8.8. Riscul transmiterilor 8.8.1. Daca Banca, la cererea Clientului, transmite sume de bani, titluri de valoare, efecte de comert, documente de

livrare marfa ale acestuia catre un anumit destinatar, utilizând in acest scop terte parti ca intermediari, transmiterea

se face pe riscul Clientului. Orice prejudiciu rezultat in urma folosirii in acest scop de catre

Banca a serviciilor postale, telefonice, de telex, fax, e-mail, de curierat sau a altor mijloace de comunicare sau

transport, va fi suportata de catre Client, cu exceptia situatiilor in care se dovedeste o culpa a Bancii intervenita in

procesul de transmitere. 8.8.2. In cazul in care Banca utilizeaza, la cererea Clientului, serviciul SWIFT in scopul transmiterii Ordinelor de plata

instructate de acesta sau pentru emiterea garantiilor bancare/ deschiderea acreditivelor si/sau transmiterea oricaror

alte mesaje in legatura cu derularea/modificarea garantiilor/acreditivelor emise/deschise de Banca la cererea

Clientului, Banca va raspunde pentru eventualele prejudicii generate ca urmare a erorilor proprii de procesare a

transmiterilor. 8.9. Alte clauze 8.9.1. Banca poate transmite Clientului, la cerere, informatii cu privire la continutul CGB si/sau la orice Contract

specific privind produsele /serviciile furnizate.

8.9.2. In cazul in care inceteaza Contractul specific ce reglementeaza operatiunile de plata si/sau instrumentele

de plata si/sau Conturile de plati, prin denuntare unilaterala la initiativa Clientului sau prin reziliere solicitata de

Banca, Clientul si Banca agreeaza ca Banca va retine integral pretul periodic platit de Client in avans pentru

derularea acestor Contracte (spre ex.taxa administrare Cont, taxa mentenanta Cont/ instrument de plata, etc).

8.9.3. In cazul in care Contractul specific inceteaza prin reziliere (invocata de parte pentru neexecutarea sau

executarea in mod necorespunzator de catre contraparte a obligatiilor contractuale), rezilierea opereaza de plin drept,

fara somatie, fara punere in intârziere si fara interventia instantelor judecatoresti. 8.9.4. In cazul in care prevederile cu caracter dispozitiv din actele normative ce reglementeaza conditiile utilizarii

instrumentelor de plata, ale derularii operatiunilor de plata si ale functionarii Conturilor de plati, precum si drepturile si

obligatiile partilor in legatura cu acestea, nu sunt preluate integral sau, dupa caz, sunt reflectate in mod diferit in

cuprinsul prezentelor CGB si/sau al Contractelor specifice, se considera ca Banca si Clientul au convenit sa aplice

in raporturile dintre ele respectivele dispozitii legale doar in limita preluarii lor in continutul clauzelor contractuale .

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Loan Products Included in the Offerof Commercial Banks

�

Vasile DeduAdrian Enciu

The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies

Abstract. A bank loan is the main form of economical credit. It is for cor-

porate activities – for medium and big companies and for retail activities – for

small companies and individuals.

The conditions for credit mainly depend on the quality of customers, it

means their ability to perform a profitable activity and to be able to pay back

the credits.

For reasons which are mainly connected to marketing, bank practice has

developed a large range of credit names, trying to emphasize some of the parts

of the products or to take profit of some competition advantages in relation

with customers’ products. We are trying to include the offer of bank loans in a

typology which takes into account the law, the bank field rules and the main

technical features of the offered products.

Keywords: loan products; short term credit; long and medium term credit;

commercial banks; risk.

�

JEL Codes: G21.

REL Codes: 11C, 11E.

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A bank loan, as the main form of

economical credit, it is based on bank deposit,

loans taken from the money market,

especially from other banks, loans taken from

the financial market and bank’s own funds.

A bank loan is mainly a short term credit

because the resources are also on short term

and they come from the money market. The

medium and long term credit has as main

source the loans taken from the financial

market.

A credit is addressed to corporate

activities – medium and big companies and

retail activities – small companies and

individuals. It depends mainly on the

quality of the customers, it means their

ability to perform a profitable activity and

to be able to pay the given loans. Banks

give loans only on the base of real

guarantees or future income assignment of

the beneficiaries, as well as the amounts of

money in their bank accounts or personal

guarantees. Loans are given for the goal

established through the contract and the use

of the loan for other goals entitles the bank

to stop the credit and to start recovering the

given amounts in advance. The contract of

credit and the contracts of guarantee have

a law value and that means the bank can

make use of them against the debtor without

any other law trial.

As in practice, for reasons which are

mainly connected to marketing, we

encounter a very large range of credit names,

we are trying to include the offers of bank

credits in a typology which takes into

account the law, the bank field rules and the

main technical features of the offered

products. Thus, we can find:

1. Short term credits

Global operation loan

The global operation loan is the main type

of credit used by companies for their

economical activities. This type of credit has

been named in different ways, at least since

1990 to present, according to the orientation

of money authorities. In 1990 the name of

production credit was used and it showed very

well the goal of the credit, it means the financing

of service supplying and production activities.

As the term was considered to be old, in 1995

it was renamed as global operation loan and

had the same economical meaning, but it was

considered more adequately for the new

market. Starting 2000 the name of revolving

credit was preferred, a type of loan used in

western countries, which allowed the customer

to renew its credit to the level initially

approved, thus the company had permanently

available the same amount of credit till the due

date. The substance of the credit has not

changed, but the form of giving and paying

back; the classic system has been abandoned

in favor of a modern form of credit which

allowed that the amount develop according to

the cash flow fluctuation of the company, giving

and repaying multiple amounts of money

during the period of credit, but within the limit

of the approved level. The term of revolving

credit was largely accepted by the bank

community, because it showed quite well the

feature of the credit which gave the possibility

of using a higher volume of credits than the

approved one, but it had to be paid back when

the reserves were in the approved limit. This

form of credit was a step forward in the field of

loan offering advantages mainly for companies,

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but also for banks as, by operating a higher

volume of credits, within the limits of a contract,

they could benefit from a higher volume of

interests and bank charges for their payment

operations. In 2000 this term was also changed

into credit line, which was considered to be

more adequate to the activity of loan and which

represented a revolving credit. The crediting

mechanism was the current account, which,

through its crediting-debiting operation,

reflected whether the existing credit (debit sold)

or the money reserves (credit sold). Starting

2007, the central bank has introduced the term

of limit of credit, with the same meaning and

mechanism of operation but with a less

representative name. Further on we will be

using the term of global operation credit, which

shows better the substance of this type of credit.

Global operation credit can be given either

for the current supplying, production, sale

activities or for other sub activities, projects,

contracts which, through their nature, are per-

formed and emphasized distinctively. The loan

is given for a period up to 12 months and can

be renewed, upon the customer’s request, on

the base of an analysis similar to the one perfor-

med when opening the credit line. The credit

can be increased or decreased during this period

of 12 months if the customer’s business activity

is better or weaker than the parameters taken

into consideration when the credit was approved.

Global operation credits can be given

to companies which have adequate financial

performances (categories A or B) and which

have a good sense of duty. These credits can

also be given to companies included in the

performance categories C or D, but only for

export activities and when these activities

have considerable percentage and

permanent status in their turnover.

Object credit

An object credit refers to a loan given

for orders, final product stocks which are for

sale, including unfinished products within

the period of credit. This type of credit is

typical to building and manufacturing

companies, which operate on base of a

contract concluded before the production

process starts or to companies which

acquires stocks of goods in order to sell them

later. For a bank this type of credit is more

attractive than the global operation one, as

the sale of the products is assured and thus

the credit repayment is assured.

Credits for financing temporary stocks

This category includes: (a) credits for tem-

porary expenses and stocks of raw materials,

materials which exceed the needs following to

some factors (supplying in advance from

suppliers, supplying with best lots of goods,

production shut down, difficulties with ship-

ping the goods to house or abroad customers;

and (b) credits for temporary expenses and

stocks of raw materials and products (animal

and vegetable agricultural products, agricultural

food, other stocks for a longer period than a

quarter of a year but no longer than 12

months). These stocks are typical to companies

which perform temporary business activities

in the food and agricultural industry.

Treasury credits

This category also known as loans for

temporary needs, are given to cover the deficit

of cash due to a failure in receiving goods or

services, to supply some temporary requests

of financing, including for the use of some

opportunities offered by the market. Treasury

credits are given for a period of maximum

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30 days. Credits for account facilities are of

the same nature as well as credits for overdraft,

which are given up to 30 days in order to cover

the difference of cash flow following to an

unpredictable situation.

Discount loan

A discount loan is given on the base of

some payment instruments, also called

commercial securities, which can become

guarantees given to the bank up to the

receipts of those securities or one can

guarantee in favor of a bank that it will

recover their nominal value as beneficiary.

In the same way one can do with the cheque,

which is either remitted for the bank or

guaranteed in favor of the bank. A trade

paper, a promissory note and a cheque are

loan securities which entitle one to have

access to open currency or to tenor. These

kinds of loans cannot be given to the

companies which have been included in the

Data Bank of the Payment Central with

incidents in the last six months or the

companies whose right to use them has been

suspended for a period of 12 months.

The account loan is more risky than other

types of loans, as the payment instruments

received as guarantee do not assure their

settlement and there are risks of failure of

payment by the debtor, who is also helped

by the period between the issuing and the

remittance (which is sometimes quite long)

as well as the postdated cheques. There are

very important the situations encountered in

our bank system, where the loans given on

the base of postdated cheques were refused

to be paid because of lack of money, and

made the banks which offered them to lose

money and to try to recover it in the court.

The factoring

Factoring is the operation performed on

the base of a contract through which the

factor (the bank) takes debts from the

customer or it is appointed adherent through

the payment of some invoices resulted

following to some trade operation, in

exchange to a commission. In fact, there is a

financing commission, which should

remunerate the bank for offering the amount

to the customer in advance and a commission

of administration which should remunerate

the bank for its effort of recovering the

money. Unlike discount, in the case of

factoring we do not encounter trade papers.

According to the moment of financing

the customer, there are two types of factoring:

� Old line factoring, when the factor pays

the invoices when overtaking them.

� Maturity factoring, when the factor pays

the debts of the adherent the moment

they become exigible. In this second

case, the factor does not receive the

financing commission, but it is remune-

rated for the operation of discount.

Services of insolvency and currency

risk evaluation are of a great importance in

financing the exports. The insurance against

the insolvency risk is made by subrogating

the factor for the adherent, so that the

importer will be considered valid and the

payment will be made to the factor. For the

currency risk, there must be added a margin

to the cost of operation.

The cost of these services is between 0.5

and 3% of the invoice for the administration

of the bookkeeping and for the help with the

management, and the payment in advance

of invoices means a 1.5-3% higher interest

than the bank interest.

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To make use of the factor offers a series

of advantages: it gives you the possibility to

use the trade paper or the letter of credit when

making the payment, to avoid the misunder-

standing which can come out when using a

foreign language or not knowing the laws in

force or the custom in the importer’s country.

Old line factoring assures the adherent

a financial reserve earlier than the payment

date of the loans given to importers, offering

the possibility to place another order without

the risk of insolvency of its debtors. Besides

it offers the possibility of getting some

payment facilities, so for an exporter it is a

way of promoting the exports.

Consume credit

Consume credit is a credit given to

individuals in order to buy goods or services

in the commercial network. In general this is a

short and medium term credit. Initially it arose

from the possibility offered by a trader to buy

goods, especially food, and to pay for them

when salaries are paid. Consume credit offers

advantages for both parties: the buyers have

the possibility to get the goods he needs without

having the amount of money needed for this

purpose, and the traders promote the products.

At the beginning the consume credit was in

the way of a trade credit where the risk of non-

payment was under seller’s responsibility, but

in time it has turned into a bank credit. There is

a large variety of consume credits which can

be changed according to more and more varied

offers of goods and according to consumers’

preferences closely depending on their income,

it means their life standard. The most wanted

types of consume credits are the following: non-

nominal credits, deck credits, card credits,

credits through debit cards for overdraft, car

credits, credits for long use products, house

credits and credits on mortgage.

Consume credit (except the house credit

and credit on mortgage) has a minimum and

a maximum limit (about 500 – 20.000 RON),

which varies from a bank to another, a period

of up to four – five years and a variable interest

plus commissions. This credit can be taken in

RON or in another foreign currency. The size

of the credit is given depending on the value

of the goods which are to be bought and on

the income made by the person (and its family)

who takes the loan. The guarantee is the

transfer of the income made out of salaries

and, if the case, the endorsers’ revenues.

Consume credit also has a social

component, as it finances the people’s going

up desires of consume through a later

repayment thus becoming the engine of retail

activities. The more advanced a society is

the higher the amount of consume credits

among non government credits is. But there

is a limit where one can extend the consume

credit determined by the level of people’s

debts according to the income made by them,

which varies from a country to another and

it is between 50% and 70%, depending on

the country’s monetary policy.

Non-nominal credits

A non-nominal credit (also known as

credit for personal needs) is the most used form

of the consume credit, being used to cover the

present requests of the person (and its family)

who takes the loan. As a rule, this is a credit

which must be guaranteed by personal income

and possibly by other endorsers.

On the market there are also non-

nominal credits for long use goods, but they

operate as long and medium term credits.

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Credit through credit cards

A credit through credit cards is a classic

short term credit which is given according to

the banks’ standards. This is a type of revolving

credit, it means a credit line of a certain value

(also called limit of credit) from which one can

make payments within its limits and which has

to be monthly renewed. The owner of the card

is obliged to pay a third of the credit balance at

the end of the month and also to cover the

interest and the commissions, then he renews

the limit of credit. The risk of a failure of

payment is higher for a credit card than for the

other short term credits, as the interest is also

higher. Yet the credit through a credit card has

become a common one and it is now the most

favorite way of paying goods.

Credits through debit cards for overdraft

An overdraft credit for individuals is

specific for a debit card and it is a line of credit

which depends on the operation of this card.

Mainly the payment can be made through the

debit card only within the limit of the amount

of the card account. For a salary card, the bank

offers a credit facility, it means that, without

money in the account, one can make payments

from the credit line within the limit of an amount

of the salary and this amount should be paid

back from the first salary received together with

its interest and commissions. The guarantee is

offered by an employer who undertakes to

retain the amount from the salary in case the

overdraft credit is not paid back.

2. Long/medium-term loans

Development loansDevelopment loans are the ones which are

given for new investments in production facilities

and equipment, infrastructure work, water plant

management, city construction management

and others which can be the base for economical

development. Investments are of great values

which are to be made in several years and have

a long term economical effect. Investments are

made on the base of some technical economical

documents which should contain the description

of its efficiency apart from the technical one.

Loans are approved on the base of these

documents, approved by the beneficiary’s

management board and they must have the

expertise of the technical and economical

department of banks, and if they do not have

this kind of specialists, they have to get the

advice of a specialist. A bank analysis is focu-

sed on the economical efficiency of the invest-

ment which should show the possibility of

credit reimbursement and should make the

beneficiary increase its profitability. Credits are

given to make up the investor’s funds, but it is

the main financing source (about 60% - 70%).

The period of credit is of about 15 – 25 years,

depending on the nature and the efficiency of

the investment.

For investments of great values, the credit

is given by a bank pool, it means a group of

banks which is formed to take part with a certain

percentage to the financing in order to share the

risk of credit. Financing is assured through one

of the banks which represents the whole group

– the agent bank – and which monitors the credit

till the reimbursement is complete. The guarantee

is the investment, and if it is considered

necessary, because of the long term of the credit,

one can ask for other bank or state guarantees.

Credit on mortgageCredits on mortgage are also long term

credits given to buy dwellings (houses, flats, or

land) which are based on the mortgage over

the investment according to the Law of the loan

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on mortgage no. 190/1999. In Romania, the

credit on mortgage has increased since 2003

and has developed rapidly because of the deficit

between the dwellings and the possibilities of

financing which had arisen. 70% of the

investment is given as a credit, and the dwelling

is on mortgage in favor of the credit bank till

the reimbursement of the loan is completely paid

back. The size of the credit depends on the

income and the age of those who take the credit

so that the credit could be reimbursed

completely during the active period of their life.

The credit period is up to 20-30 years, but these

limits can be extended depending on the

monetary policy. To finance these investments,

there are mortgage banks which take long term

credits from the capital market or ask other

financing companies or investments funds to

co-finance these investments, but the role of

agent is played by the mortgage bank. The risk

is that the debtor could fail to make the

reimbursement during such a long period of

time and the bank should be in charge with

selling the real estate according to market

conditions. The highest risk is the difficulty in

anticipating the economical evolution on long

terms, a very good example is the crisis of the

subprime loans in the USA which made

financing companies to lose a lot of money and

some of these companies went bankrupt. After

the events of September 11, 2001, the

government encouraged the drop in interests

which decreased from 7% to 1% in order to

encourage constructions and to stimulate the

economic growth, which led to an avalanche

of mortgage credits. The problem was when

interests went up again and made a lot of debtors

fail to perform the payment of their installments

which led to a deterioration of the portfolio of

credits on mortgage (one of four credits became

unprofitable). The failure of payments led to

the collapse of dwelling demands and

consequently the drop in price, thus the banks

could not sell the dwellings taken from the

debtors and lost about US$ 400 billion, some

of them almost went bankrupt. This crisis has

already started to arise in other countries too,

for example in England.

Real estate creditsCredits for real estate investments are given

to buy real estates or land for construction and

they are guaranteed with those real estates or

with the bought land or with other real estates

or other land. These credits are medium or long

term credits which are based on the deed of

sale and on the investor’s capacity to reimburse

the loan. Real estate credits are also used to erect

buildings having as a guarantee the erected buil-

ding after it has been finished. Before the

building is finished there are used other kinds

of guarantees, as an unfinished and non opera-

tional building can not be considered as a

guarantee.

Leasing creditsLeasing credits are medium term credits

and are given to leasing companies for buying

movables or real estates, which then can be

leased or rented with the option to buy the

product at a price previously established or to

return it to the company at the end of the leasing

period. The credit is given up to 85% of the

goods value on the base of real guarantees (real

estate guarantees) and on the base of the goods

that are to be bought and other additional

securities under the form of a transfer of debts

of the amounts in the account, on the base of

compensation from insurance companies.

Although the leasing is a new activity, it has

expanded quite fast on the base of financing

from bank credits.

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Nominal creditsThis type of credit is given to buy new

vehicles from authorized dealers or to buy

second hand vehicles from second hand

traders or individuals. Its particularity is that

the buyer should have at least 25% of the funds

as the credit is 75% of the goods value. The

goods should be insured by the buyer and the

insurance policy is transferred to the bank.

Credits for other types of goods (domestic

electronic and electric devices, computers, IT

components, furniture) are given under the

same conditions as for vehicles.

ForfaitingForfaiting is an operation of transferring

the debts of a foreign business trade made on

credit to a bank or to a special financing

company. The bank pays for these debts on

the spot and it will recover their value from

the importing debtor. The operation looks like

discounting, but there are several technical

elements which are different. Firstly, forfaiting

unlike discounting, does not give the bank

the right to appeal the seller of the debts in

case there are any incidents regarding the

payment caused by the debtor. Secondly, the

term of the operation makes the difference.

Forfating applies not only to the short term

debts, shorter than a year, but also to those of

medium term, from 1 year to 7 years. But we

have to notice that in Romania the operation

rather works within the lower limit of the

above mentioned period. The bonds used in

the forfaiting can be bills of exchange, bills

payable to order, letters of credit.

Forfaiting’s advantages are: creating cash,

respectively improving the cash flow by

receiving immediately the value resulted from

selling the bills of exchange, avoiding the risk

of non-payment of the bills of exchange at the

stated term – this risk being overtaken by the

bank – and promoting the goods at selling on

the base of a sure financing. The cost of

financing has a fixed rate of interest, plus a

commission established depending on the

debtor’s reliability, on the fact that the bills of

exchange are or not guaranteed, on the

estimated risk of operation, on the way of

paying the forfaiting. Thus the determined

discount reduces the nominal value paid to the

exporter. Taking into account the risk overtaken

by the bank, we can find here higher costs

compared to discount operation.

References

Cocriº, V., Chirleºan, D. (2007). Management bancar ºi

analiza de risc în activitatea de creditare, Editura

Universitãþii „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, Iaºi

Constantinescu, D. (2004). Management bancar, Editura

BREN, Bucureºti

Dedu, V. (2008). Gestiune ºi audit bancar, ediþia a II-a,

Editura Economicã, Bucureºti

Imireanu, M. (2002). Produse ºi servicii bancare în relaþiile

de plãþi, Editura Tribuna Economicã, Bucureºti

Trenca, I. (2006). Metode ºi tehnici bancare, Editura Casa

Cãrþii de ªtiinþã, Cluj-Napoca

„Treasury Strategies - European Treasury Trends & Practices,

Treasury Strategies”, FX & MM Magazine, March 2006

Regulamentul nr. 14/19/14.12.2006 privind tratamentul

riscului de credit pentru instituþiile de credit ºi firmele

de investiþii potrivit abordãrii standard

Regulamentul nr. 15/20/14.12.2006 privind tratamentul riscului

de credit pentru instituþiile de credit ºi firmele de investiþii

potrivit abordãrii bazate pe modele interne de rating

Site-uri oficiale ale bãncilor comerciale din România

Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Oeconomica, 14(1), 2012

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BANK LOANS AND SMALL FIRM FINANCING IN ROMANIA

Daniela Rodica Silivestru(Popescu)1 Abstract: According to a recent survey conducted by the European Commission, European small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) are highly dependent on bank loans when it comes to financing their activity and accomplishing their growth ambitions. Romanian small enterprises make no exception. In 2011, on average 87% of Romanian SMEs borrowings originate from bank loans. However due to the economic and financial crisis the Romanian SMEs access to credit has deteriorated considerably in comparison with the EU average. Since 2009 only 41% of SMEs managed to access bank loans. In this context, the present paper seeks to analyze the gap between the demand and supply of bank credit to SMEs in Romania between 2007 and 2011. Keywords: SMEs, bank credit supply, bank credit demand, financing gap JEL Codes: G30, G21, E51

Introduction Access to finance represents the second most pressing problem for all Romanian SMEs.

Ever since Romania entered the European Union, the financial support system focused more and more on providing funding resources for SMEs by lowering the cost of borrowing from banks and other credit institutions. Yet, SMEs loans continue to create specific difficulties such as (European Commission, 2011a): (i) management costs which can be significant for the providers of funds as loans are small in size; (ii) problems on accessing enterprises’ information, as SMEs can operate on niche and local markets, and, unlike their larger peers, are not subject to external ratings and extensive disclosure requirements; and (iii) risks generated by the questioning quality of SMEs management system which makes the automation of the credit process more difficult.

Despite all inconveniences, most Romanian SMEs turn to debt financing at an early stage and generally choose banks as their main lenders. In 2011, on average 87% of Romanian SMEs borrowings originate from bank loans. Borrowings from non-bank financial institutions recorded only 7.5 %, at the end of 2011. In the same time, the results of the National Bank of Romania (NBR) Bank Lending Survey 2011 showed a significant overall tightening of credit standards on loans to SMEs. As a consequence almost a third of SMEs which applied for a bank loan did not get any credit or got less than they applied for.

A fundamental problem in dealing with SME financing is the lack of basic information about the difference between the demand and supply of financial instruments at their disposal. Often the only evidence is in the form of complaints from SMEs themselves and this is difficult to use in analysis or for comparison. In this context, the objective of this paper is to gather secondary reliable data from different official sources (results of enterprise surveys, banking surveys, and data directly provided by the National Bank of Romania) and assess the gap between the volume of bank loans granted to SMEs and the loan demand by SMEs between 2007 and 2011. Given the importance of adequate access to finance for SME development, having a clear understanding of the difference between the demand for funds by SMEs and the supply of funds to SMEs will help stakeholders find answers to some of the following questions: Are Romanian SMEs affected by a

1 Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, e-mail: [email protected]

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bank financing gap? If so, who is responsible for this gap? What needs to be done to address the SMEs bank financing gap?

To answer the aforementioned questions, the reminder of the paper is organized as follows: Section 1 reviews the literature regarding the typical barriers and constraints on SME bank financing on both the demand and supply sides; Section 2 presents an overview of the Romanian SMEs sector development in the 2007-2011 period; Section 3 describes the evolution of the bank credit offer to SMEs, Section 4 investigates SMEs’ demand for bank credit and Section 5 concludes.

Literature review For some time now the academic world has focused on researching the nature and existence

of potential market failure with SMEs’ access to bank and debt finance. In this respect some authors have studied SMEs difficulties in accessing finance (demand side characteristics) while others have presented the main issues in bank lending practices (supply side characteristics). Understanding why SMEs face a financing gap, commonly defined as the difference between the volume of funds at their disposal and the volume of funds they require, implies distinguishing the various limitations which describe both sides. The supply side constraints predominate if appropriate sources of finance are not available on terms and conditions suitable for SMEs (European Commission, 2001). The demand side constraints exist if entrepreneurs do not make use of existing financing opportunities, because of a shortage of good projects or lack of persuasive business plans.

Analyzing the supply side, some studies (Bell, 2000, Lean and Tucker (2000)) show that financial providers tend to know little about their clients’ businesses due to managers’ reluctance in providing strong financial information about their activity. Since banks are not able to control all actions of borrowers due to imperfect and costly information, they formulate the terms of the loan contracts in such a way as to reduce the risks associated with borrowing. The result is an equilibrium rate of interests at which the demand for credit exceeds the supply (Atieno, 2001:5). More frequently, the bank lending supply problem lies with supervisory and capital adequacy requirements which prevent banks from lending to enterprises that lack traditional collateral. One way of reacting to this market imperfection is reducing the maturity of their outstanding loans. Shorter loans allow banks to monitor more frequently the firms’ performance and, if necessary, vary the terms of the contracts before losses have accumulated (Hernández-Cánovas and Koëter-Kant 2008:2). Heyman, et al. (2007) pointed out that the length of a SME’s debt depends on the maturity matching between the debt and the life of the assets.

Cetorelli and Gambera (1999) examined the role played by banking sector concentration on firm access to capital, showing that bank concentration promotes the growth of industries that are naturally heavy users of external finance by facilitating credit access to younger firms. Similarly, Black; Strahan (2002) and Berger et.al (2004) have shown that a high bank concentration on the market causes a reduction in volume of credit granted to SMEs.

The fundamental reasons behind SMEs’ credit demand can be found in their peculiar characteristics. As Berger and Udell (1995) observed, SMEs face higher cost of financing due to the fact that most of them have fewer assets to offer as collateral. Johnsen and McMahon (2005) stated that because of collateral firms with more intangible assets tend to borrow less, compared with firms with more tangible assets. Beck, Demirgüc-Kunt and Maksimovic (2008) found that small firms use less external finance than large firms (especially in terms of banks and equity finance) because their lack of collateral.

Ownership structure affects SMEs ability to access finance. The entrepreneurs’ behavior has profound consequences on how the business is run. Schmitz (1982) highlighted that the small scale producers in developing countries fail to expand primarily because they lack managerial ability. For this reason, entrepreneur related factors take a priority position in all credit assessments by the borrowers. Kumar and Fransico (2005), found a strong education effect in explaining access to


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financial services in Brazil. In a more recent study conducted on UK SMEs, Irwin and Scott (2009) observed that graduates entrepreneurs had the least difficulties in raising finance from banks.

Industry affiliation is another characteristic which influences SMEs demand for credit. For example, some studies have shown (Levine, 2004) that SMEs in industries such as textiles, machinery or manufacturing require a higher amount of external finance to meet their growth requirements. Because on this SMEs tend to grow faster in countries with higher levels of financial development. Silva and Carreira (2010) argue that service sector firms due to lack of physical capital avoid long term lending.

Petersen and Rajan (1994), Berger and Udell (1995), Miller (1995) discuss the importance of borrowers’ lending history in obtaining bank loans. Being in the business for many years suggest that firms are competitive and have accumulated sufficient assets to meet the collateral requirements of the banks. In addition the financial track record facilitates the evaluation of the lending proposals making it easier for SMEs to obtain loans from banks.

Inspired by the literature approaches so far illustrated, the present paper seeks to investigate if Romanian SMEs suffer form a gap financing in terms of bank loans and if so how has this gap evolved between 2007 and 2011. Before proceeding to investigating SMEs’ bank financing gap it is important to know how the Romanian micro, small and medium sized sector has developed in the last years. This investigation will offer a broad perspective on SMEs role in Romanian economy in terms of units’ growth (in total and by sector of activity), employment and value added emphasizing the importance of bank loan financing to the SMEs sector.

SMEs sector development in Romania: an analysis of the 2007 to 2011 period Romania’s economic situation has significantly improved over the last 5 years. In view of

the country’s accession to the EU in 2007 the financial sector has rapidly picking up providing a favorable environment for the creation and growth of the small to medium sized enterprises sector. In Romania the legislation on SMEs (Law 346/2004 on stimulating the creation and development of small and medium amended and supplemented by Government Ordinance no. 27 of 26.01.2006) is entirely harmonized with the European Commission’s Recommendation nr.2003/361/EC regarding SME definition (Roman and Ignatescu, 2011: 135). According to article 2 from the cited Recommendation, “the category of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is made up of enterprises which employ fewer than 250 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. Table no. 1 presents the headcount ceiling, the turnover ceiling and the balance sheet ceiling for each size class enterprise:

Table no. 1

SMEs dimension by size class Enterprise category Headcount Turnover or Balance sheet total

Micro < 10 ≤ € 2 million ≤ € 2 million Small < 50 ≤ € 10 million ≤ € 10 million Medium-sized < 250 ≤ € 50 million ≤ € 43 million

(Source: European Commission, 2003)

Taking into account the SME definition, table no. 2 summarizes the evolution of Romanian SMEs’ units by size class in 2007-2011:

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Table no. 2 Romanian SMEs by size class

Romanian SMEs (units) 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Micro enterprises 417.971 460.254 453.009 464.659 475.852 % total enterprises 88,12% 88,53% 88,28% 88,47% 88,62% Small enterprises 45.108 48.007 48.487 49.173 49.798

% total enterprises 9,51% 9,23% 9,45% 9,36% 9,27% Medium-Sized enterprises 9.481 9.785 9.838 9.669 9.637

% total enterprises 2,00% 1,88% 1,92% 1,84% 1,79% Total SMEs 472.560 518.046 511.334 523.501 535.287

% total enterprises 99,62% 99,65% 99,64% 99,67% 99,69% (Source: European Commission, 2011d)

Between 2007 and 2011, the number of active SMEs in the Romanian economy has

registered an annual growth of over 9%. The year 2009 was an exception. In 2009, due to the financial and economic crisis the trend of the Romanian GDP showed an incredible downturn. As a consequence, most SMEs tried to survive, with the reserves accumulated during prior years while others started to move into insolvency. In addition, for the first time after four years of continuous demographic growth, a significant decrease in the number of SMEs units registered in Romania was reported (Szabo, 2011:96).

By size class, the Romanian private sector is dominated by micro enterprises. In 2011 micro firms represented 89% of all enterprises, a 1% increase from 2007. The large number of micro enterprises can be explained by the existence, during the analyzed period, of tax incentives and government grants for start-ups. On the other hand the increasing share of micro-enterprises might just reflect the downsizing of larger enterprises. Thus, amid the growing number of micro firms, in 2010, there was a decrease of small (from 9.51% in 2007 to 9.36% in 2010) and medium-sized enterprises (2% in 2007 versus 1.84% in 2007), a trend contrary to developments registered in the first three years of the period.

The financial and economic crisis has taken a toll on Romanian enterprises, putting a temporary stop to the positive long-term developments in the number of SMEs and their contribution to employment and economic value added. In employment terms, SMEs were much more reluctant to shed employees during the crisis than the large firms. In fact, during 2008–2010, Romanian SMEs maintained their workforce at pre-crisis level, while the large enterprises shed about 6 % of their workers. Regarding the outlook for 2012, estimates indicate a recovery, more or less in line with the EU average. The number of enterprises and their contribution to GDP (as measured by the gross value added) and employment in SMEs are all expected to exceed the pre-crisis levels by the end of 2012 (European Commission, 2011c)

By sectors of activity, the evolution of SMEs is highlighted in the figure below.


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90%

100%

110%

120%

130%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Industry

Trade

Services

Figure no. 1. - Romanian SMEs sector growth index (2007=100)

(Source: data processed from European Commission 2011d) The most dynamic SMEs in terms of unit growth have been those active in the service sector

which registered an important increase from 2007 to 2011 (10.64%). This is due to the fact that most service related activities required neither high investment in fixed assets nor expensive labor cost.

Regarding the evolution of trade related SMEs, as can be seen; these have registered a constant growth over the analyzed period. Although their number increased in absolute terms they were heavily influenced by the structural changes that took place on the market: the decline in the share of firms active in the industry sector, in favor of companies that provide different types of services to citizens and businesses.

SMEs in the industry sector were the most affected by the economic and financial crisis. During 2008-2010, they registered a year on year unit reduction of 3%.

Given SMEs evolution by size class and industry affiliation it is interesting to see if between 2007 and 2011 access to bank loans has followed SMEs units’ dynamics.

Analyzing SMEs bank financing gap in Romania – proposed methodology In analyzing Romanian SMEs supply and demand for bank loans the present paper deploys

a research method based on a) Data gathering from public bodies at national level. The volume of banks loans

granted to Romanian SMEs between 2007 and 2011 and SMEs demand for credit differ in terms of information rendering due to each sides’ specificity and the way previous authors conducted their research. In this context SMEs supply of funds is presented as the amount of money allocated by banks registered in Romania to the private sector. Romanian SMEs demand for credit is reflected as an index based on banks officials apprehension on SMEs loan demand evolution.

b) Analysis of supply and demand issues that affect Romanian SME access to bank finance. The supply side analysis includes a short presentation of SMEs loan volume dynamics and an investigation of the impact of banks concentration on SMEs access to finance using Gini-Struck coefficient. The demand side analysis explains SMEs loan propensity by maturity based on banks officials’ responses.

Unlike previous studies the present paper combines SMEs supply and demand analysis to offer a gap financing research meant to capture some of the features that affected SMEs banks financing in Romania between 2007 and 2011.

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Bank loans supply for SMEs in Romania Commercial banks are by far the strongest players in the Romanian financial system. Still,

the money supply and non-government credit in Romania as percentage of the GDP are below EU average and the percentage of SMEs financed through bank loans still remains low (FAO, 2005:6). This can be explained by the collateral requirements that most small and medium enterprises cannot provide, and by their inability to present all necessary support documents required by the credit institutions.

Between 2007 and 2011, the volume of credits granted to non-financial corporations has exhibited a steady growth, with a slight decline during 2010. By borrowers’ size class, bank loans were more concentrated in case of corporations relative to small and medium-sized enterprises. The dynamics of bank loans granted to economic agents in Romania during 2007-2011 registered the following evolution:

-

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

300.000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Short term loans

Long terms loans

Short term loans SMEs

Long terms loans SMEs

Figure no.2. - Bank loans granted to SMEs in Romania between 2007 and 2011 – mil. Lei

(Source: BNR, 2011)

As figure no. 2 shows, in Romania, SME loans volume remained low. The main reason for this situation is the fact that banks perceive small enterprises as high-risk customers that generate low profitability. On average the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to SMEs exceeds that of large corporations. During the period of analysis, the NPL ratio on loans to SMEs increased from 2.3% in 2008 to 16.7% in June 2011. The quality of the loan portfolio to micro-enterprises witnessed the sharpest worsening (to 24.1 % from 14 % December 2009 through June 2011). Developments were of a lower magnitude in case of corporations, with the NPL ratio rising to 3.7 percent from 1.3 percent over the same period (BNR, 2011: 94, BNR, 2009:86). Banks tightened lending terms and standards in a pro-cyclical manner, whereas demand stayed low amid a gradual economic recovery and international developments carrying considerable uncertainties and risks. Long term loans granted to SMEs remained in 2010 on the downtrend they followed since 2009 registering a slight rise in 2011. At the end of 2011 SMEs long term loans amount 73 mil. lei, 26% less than the highest volume registered in 2008.

The volume of credits granted to non-financial corporations in general and SMEs in particular, depends not only on the applicants’ financial capacity but also on banks’ concentration. A number of studies (Black and Strahan 2002; Berger et.al 2004) have shown that a high bank concentration on the market causes a reduction in volume of credit granted to SMEs. Therefore, the financial institution structure and lending infrastructure may significantly affect the availability of


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funds to SMEs by affecting the feasibility with which financial institutions provide funds to different types of SMEs (Berger, et.al 2004).

The main characteristics of the financial institutions authorized by the National Bank of Romania to engage in lending activity in Romania are summarized in table no. 3.

Table no. 3 Structural indicators of the Romanian banking system (2007-2011)

Indicators Unit 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Number of credit institutions (no) 42 43 42 42 42 Number of banks with majority foreign capital, of which (no) 40 42 40 40 40 Foreign bank branches (no) 10 10 10 9 9 Assets of banks with majority private capital/Total assets (%)

(% in total assets) 94,7 94,6 92,5 92,4 93,1

Assets of banks with foreigncapital/Total assets (%)

(% in total assets) 88,0 88,2 85,3 85,0 85,4

Loans/ Deposits (%) 108,72 120,62 118,57 115,10 117,28Herfindahl-Hirschmann index (points) 1.046 926 857 871 895

(Source: BNR, 2011)

In 2008, in Romanian, there were 43 credit institutions compared to 42 at the end of 2007. Out of these 32 were authorized by the central bank to act as Romanian legal entities, 10 were branches of EU banking groups and one was a credit cooperative network (BNR, 2009:17). As a result of the economic crisis, credit institutions have followed a policy of reducing costs by closing down unprofitable units and reducing the number of employees (BNR, 2010:20). From 2009 only 42 commercial banks remained active on the Romanian market. This situation persisted up to 2011. Banks with Austrian capital held the largest market share in aggregate assets (on average 38 %), ahead of banks with Greek capital (15.5 %). In terms of capital share in total foreign capital, banks with Greek capital lead the market (owning on average 30%), although their number decreased constantly over the analyzed period. Banks with Austrian and French capital followed the same downward path in their capital share (from 23% to 21 % and from 5.1% to 4.3 % respectively). The share of Dutch capital in total foreign capital saw a noticeable rise in 2010 (to 15 %), due to capital increases occasioned by the establishment of GE Garanti Bank S.A (NBR, 2011:21). Regarding the loan to deposit ratio indicator, as noticed, the indicator has improved from 120 % at the outbreak of the crisis in October 2008 to 117% at the end of 2011. Still, banks have remained relatively highly dependent on external financing. This vulnerability has been alleviated by the largely medium- and long-term resources provided by parent banks to their subsidiaries in Romania (NBR, 2011:11).

The analysis between the geographical distribution of the top 10 largest banks in Romania, in 2010, in terms of assets held and SMEs regional presence shows a significant gap between the two:

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00,05

0,10,15

0,20,25

BCR

BRD

Raiffeisen Bank

CEC

Banca Transilvania

Alpha Bank

Unicredit

Volksbank

Bancpost

ING

Gini-Struck -banks (units) Gini Struck -SMEs (units)

Figure no. 3. - Comparison between the regional distribution of banks’ units and SMEs units in 2010

(Source: processed by the author based on Nicolescu et. al 2011, BNR 2010 and banks sites)

The local units of the first 10 banks in Romania in terms of assets held (Hostiuc and Voican, 2011), in 2010, are heterogeneously distributed with a tendency toward spatial concentration in certain regions (for 8 out of 10 banks the Gini Struck2 coefficient registered values above 0.11 with 6 banks being concentrated in the Bucharest Ilfov region). In SMEs’ case, in 2010, the Gini-Struck coefficient, calculated as weight number of units per development regions, recorded a value of 0.14, indicating a slight polarization of SMEs in the Bucharest-Ilfov region. The relationship between the regional distribution of banks’ units and SMEs units can be considered two-sided. On the one hand it can be said that in Romania the territorial concentration of the credit institutions followed that of SMEs. On the other hand banks concentration led to SMEs creation and development in certain regions.

The comparison of Gini Struck coefficients calculated for bank units and SMEs reveals that in Romania SMEs access to credit depends on the degree of banks’ territorial concentration. In this respect the first two banks in the Romanian banking system, BCR and BRD present a balanced distribution of banking units by region (for BCR the Gini Struck coefficient recorded a value of 0.08 and for BRD 0.06). Transilvania Bank has the closest territorial distribution of bank units to that of SMEs (Transilvania Bank’s GS reports a value of 0.13 while SMEs GS is 0.14). This is confirmed by the National Council of Small and Medium Sized Private Enterprises in Romania (CNIPMMR) data for 2011 where it is shown that BRD, BCR and BT were the most popular providers of bank loans to SMEs.

Romanian SMEs bank loan demand From the methodological point of view SME credit demand is difficult to assess. Some

countries, Romania included use the Bank Lending Survey (BLS) method to capture changes in demand as perceived by bank officials. These responses are weighted according to the relevant bank’s market share and presented as a balance of opinions: the weighted percentage that sees an 2 To measure the degree of uniformity, Corrado Gini proposed the following relation (Săvoiu, et al., 2010:3):

0≤GS≤1; If the value of the Gini- Struck coefficient tends towards 1, it indicates a high degree of concentration of the structure, and if the value of the coefficient tends towards 0, it indicates a poor degree of concentration of the market analyzed.


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increase in demand minus the weighted percentage that see a decline in demand (OECD, 2009:20). The National Bank of Romania Bank Lending Survey results for the period 2007-2011 reveal the following trend in SMEs credit demand:

-100

-80

-60

-40

-20

0

20

40

60

80

Short term loans Long term loans

Figure no. 4. - SMEs credit demand in Romania (Source: processed by the author based on BNR October 2007- October 2011)

In the analyzed period the demand for short and long term loans from SMEs reflected the

trend followed by the Romanian economy. Thus, since 2009, the financial crisis had negatively affected the demand for credit from the private sector. The magnitude of the credit deterioration registered in Romania was quite high compared to the EU average. About 40 % of SME owners noticed a declining willingness of banks to provide loans; a third saw a deterioration of access to public guarantee schemes; and almost half of those applying for loans were actually refused by banks. (European Commission 2011c: 8). Amid these changes, all SMEs experienced a tightening of credit terms, evidenced by the introduction of more stringent contract clauses (additional risk premiums and an increase of the interest rate).

Overall SMEs’ demand for new loans decreased constantly throughout the analyzed period with a slight rise in the second semester of 2010. Regarding the loans’ maturity, as noticed short term loans were the most sought. The explanation for this situation is two folded:

a) First due to some of the Romanian government’s austerity measures taken between 2009 and 2010 (e.g. the instatement of the minimum income tax that each firm had to pay no matter the profit or loss it had obtained during the financial exercise) a number of 133.000 SMEs ceased to exist. Those remaining rethought their business strategy, giving up certain activities less profitable and reducing costs to the limit of endurance. Long term investments were reconsidered and subdued. During the same period a number of 116.000 new firms started to operate, most of them lacking the needed collateral to access long term loans.

b) Second the surge of the financial crisis exacerbated SMEs’ capacity to finance their working capital requirements. The drastic drop in demand, started by the 2008-end and continued for the largest part of 2009 and 2010, caused a decrease of sales and capacity utilization for most SMEs. This forced SMEs to increase their short term indebtment level. Starting with the last quarter of 2010 SMEs have slowly rebegun to access investment

credits showing a genuine concern for increasing their turnover. However, in 2011 only 14% of SMEs have sought bank loans (new or renewal) for investment while 86% have not submitted applications due to insufficient funds, fear of rejection or other causes (European Commission, 2011b). Banks' risk aversion remained high. Credit terms registered a tightening, through tighter

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contractual clauses, additional risk premium requirements and increase of the spread to ROBOR 1M. As a consequence loan demand recorded a marginal decrease in the 4th quarter of 2011 for the first time since quarter 3/2010, on the grounds of diminishing SMEs loan demand (BNR, October 2007 – October 2011).

SMEs reaction during the analyzed period suggests that Romanian entrepreneurs were not willing to increase their indebtedness despite the fact that their sales fell and the payment delays increased. Facing an uncertain future, this reaction is fully rational especially when these enterprises are confronted with tightened credit conditions imposed by banks and other creditors.

Conclusions Theoretically speaking Romanian SMEs can draw financing from a variety of sources to

optimize their growth opportunities. Practically, however, between 2007 and 2011 more than 80% of Romanian SMEs financed their activities by resorting to self-financing and bank loans. However, as the present analysis shows, Romanian SMEs access to bank loans remains problematic. This situation is mainly due to the fact that SMEs loans are considered by most banks as risky assets and costs associated with such loans are viewed as very high. In the absence of a solid credit history, a common situation for SMEs, banks lending decisions are based solely on the financial information provided by SMEs in their business plans. This makes it difficult for creditors to assess the creditworthiness of the SMEs proposals leading to a high percentage of rejected loan applications (16% in 2009 and 15.3% in 2011 according to National Bank of Romania). As a result, commercial banks prefer to have a portfolio dominated by large corporate borrowers. When banks do lend to SMEs, they tend to charge them a commission for assuming risk and apply tougher screening measures, which drives up costs on all sides. Moreover SMEs credit access is highly influenced by banks geographical concentration. SMEs located in Bucuresti Ilfov region gain easier access to bank loans due to the fact that 6 out of 10 most banks competitive banks in Romania are concentrated in that region. In the same time it can be said that banks expanded their territorial presence in response to SMEs behavior and as a consequence they are more present where they are more needed.

From SMEs perspective bank loans have been difficult to access during 2009-2011 due to high collateral requirements, high interest rates and bank commissions. This situation will continue to represent a problem as long as banks in Romania remain immune to the difficulties raised by entrepreneurs when submitting loans applications.

After carefully analyzing the present’s study results it can be said that Romanian SMEs suffer from a financing gap when it comes to bank loans. This situation has no singular guilty part being the result of both banks and SMEs behavior. In this context, reducing the financing gap requires finding a middle way in which banks should distribute their available resources based on custom credit ratings (not on group ratings) and SMEs should be willing to openly exchange information with banks representatives about their business situation and development prospects. Nevertheless, addressing the gap financing problem should not require actions from banks and/or SMEs alone. Romanian policymakers need to promote financing solutions to reduce this gap. Some of the government measures could include state guarantees for bank loans or interest rate subsidies for long term debts.

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26. OECD, 2009. The Impact of the Global Crisis on SME and Entrepreneurship Financing and Policy Responses, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development, available at: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/40/34/43183090.pdf, accessed on January 2012

27. Petersen M., Rajan R., 1994. The benefits of lending relationships: Evidence from small business data, Journal of Finance, 49(1), March, 3-37

28. Roman A., Ignatescu V., 2011. Features of SMEs in Romania in the Context of European Integration and Implications of the Current Crisis, MIBES Transactions, Vol 5, Issue 1, 134-150

29. Săvoiu G., Crăciuneanu V., Ţaicu M., 2010. O metodă statistică nouă de analiză a concentrării sau diversificării pieţelor, Revista Română de Statistică, nr. 58(2), 15-27

30. Schmitz H., 1982. Growth constraints on small scale manufacturing in developing countries: A critical review, World Development, vol. 10, 429-50

31. Scott J. M., Irwin D., 2009. Discouraged advisees? The influence of gender, ethnicity, and education in the use of advice and finance by UK SMEs, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 27(2), 230 – 245

32. Silva F; Carreira C., 2010. Financial constraints: Are there differences between manufacturing and services, GEMF Working Papers, no. 16, available at: http://gemf.fe.uc.pt/workingpapers/pdf/2010/gemf_2010-16.pdf, accessed on February 2012

33. Szabo Z. K, 2011. The impact of the crisis on the SME sector in Romania- The back-up of innovation and entrepreneurship development, Romanian Journal of Economics, Vol. 33, No. 2: 90-108, available at http://www.revecon.ro/articles/2011-2/2011-2-5.pdf, accessed on February 2012

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

SMEs Financing: the Extent of Need and the Responses of Different Credit Structures

Daniel BĂDULESCU University of Oradea

[email protected]

Abstract. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a key role in developing national economies, but are often limited by lack of development support in financing business for reasons of information asymmetry, high risks, lack of collateral, unfavorable regulatory environment. The statistics show managers given constant importance of SMEs financing opportunities, bank credit pre-eminence over other forms of financing, the lack of viable alternatives for start-up and innovative companies, etc. Market concentration, alternative between transactional or relational lending, various types of banks; state owned, private owned, foreign, large or small, are analyzed to identify the availability for SME financing. Finally, it is recognized the importance of a diversified banking markets both in terms of supply, lending technologies, but also as bank institutions itself.

Keywords: SME; financing; transactions lending; relationship

lending; banks. JEL Codes: G32, M13. REL Codes: 11C, 14K.

Theoretical and Applied Economics Volume XVII (2010), No. 7(548), pp. 25-36

Daniel Bădulescu

26

Introduction

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play an essential role in the development of any country. They can be assimilated as the engines of growth in developing economies, and the importance and future of SMEs tend to be a major policy concern, with strategic importance in reshaping the productive sectors, employment and innovation. But, in order to accomplish all this expectations, we have to admit that one of the biggest problem the SMEs faces is the non-availability of adequate financing facilities, the lack of availability of financial institutions or private equity investors to meet the SMEs financing requirements.

Banks, like other businesses, concentrate on creating value under a controlled risk (OECD, 2006, Pathrose, 2005). Analyzing a loan application, a bank has to focuse on the risks involved and the methods to mitigate those risks. The banks are reluctant to lend to SMEs for a number of reasons, including the following:

The information asymmetry that arises from small businesses' lack of financial information and standardized financial statements, in addition to the bank's limited knowledge about the borrower company (Badulescu, Badulescu, 2010). The quantity and quality of the information hold by the entrepreneur regarding their business cannot be accessed in the same measure and efficiency by the prospective creditor. Thus, the lenders is unable to separate between good (bankable) projects and doubtful projects, and the price (for example, the interest of the loan) doesn’t make an efficient selection; rather it will increase the bank credit portfolio with risky loans: some of them with interesting perspective, others failures for sure (this phenomenon is the adverse selection). The second issue created by informational asymmetry is the moral hazard: once the loan granted, the control of its use according to the original application (and the risk and opportunity analysis) could face serious difficulties and the loan could be used – even part of it – for other purpose. In order to reduce this risk, the financer will ask as guarantee collateral: assets, receivables, personal goods, immovable, or will pretend the early repayment of the loan, or, if it is possible, will restrict the access on the rest of unused loan.

The high risks involved in lending to the SMEs as a result of limited assets that can be used as collateral, high failure rates, low capitalization and vulnerability to market risks. The finance institutions consider the environment of SMEs being competitive and very uncertain (compared to large companies), implying a high variability


27

of return of similar SMEs in the same sector, and finally high failure rate. The limited power in market, considerable share of intangible assets, lack of relevant financial and commercial track records, insufficient circulating assets or tangible fixed assets tends to create a higher risk profile of SMEs for potential investors (OECD, 2004, Lin, Sun, 2006, Toivanen, Cresy 2000, OECD, 2000). Insufficient collaterals compared to the lenders’ request in order to overcome the risks associated to moral hazard is probably the most claimed cause of the difficulties in accessing a credit by a SME. The collaterals’ insufficiency can be the expression of an incipient stage of the business, unconsolidated yet, up to an exaggerated sizing of the credit request, upon the firm real capacity to sustain the project.

As small businesses cannot offer adequate collateral, the banks are unable to determine whether the borrower possesses the technical, managerial and marketing skills to generate adequate cash flows and service the loan. The SMEs are characterized by unsatisfactory technical endowment, difficulties in assuring qualified technical staff and experimented management (human capital) in order to adapt to the multiple and rapid changes of present-day economy. At least, the reports accuracy, business protection under contractual basis is precarious, even for internal or external reasons; make barriers for the financial institution in order to compute the real profitability of the company, the repayment capacity, even the reliability of some collateral. In developing countries, the risk profile is supplementary marked by the unstable legislative and competitive environment, with negative consequences on the transactions security.

1. The size of financing needs and the prevalence of bank loans

Based on a recent research - Flash Euro barometer Access to finance (No. 271), commissioned by the European Commission’s DG Enterprise and Industry, in cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB), to measure EU companies’ use of various sources of finance, the difficulties in accessing finance, we notice that one of the most pressing concern of SME managers from EU is access to financing, adding more than 16% from answers (after finding customers but far away of the competition or availability of skilled staff) (European Central Bank, 2009, Gallup Organization, 2009).

Daniel Bădulescu

28

Source: ECB (2009).

Figure 1. Companies’ most pressing problem

As expected, inside de EU there are significant differences between countries,

for example very important for SME in Greece (39%) and Spain (23%) or Romania (19%) but moderate for Poland, Belgium SMEs (see Figure 2).

Source: ECB (2009).

Figure 2. Companies identifying acces to finance as the most pressing problems

Regarding the profile of companies we notice that the “access to finance” was more often selected as the most pressing problem by managers of companies with a turnover of less than €10 million (16%-17% vs. 8%-10% for companies with a turnover above €10 million), established between two and nine years ago (20%-21% vs. 12% in companies established less than two years ago and 14% in companies existing for 10 years or more), in the construction sector (20% vs. 14% in the services sector and 17% in trade and industry or that have introduced innovation in at least one area – products or services, marketing, production and management (18% vs. 14% in non-innovative companies).


29

Almost half (47%) of managers in the EU answered that they had used internal funds in the past six months to finance their operations (as seen above – some had only used internal funds, while others had used these in combination with external financing).

The most popular source of debt financing was a bank: 30% of companies had used bank overdraft facilities or a credit line and 26% had received a bank loan. Debt can also be issued by a public source or even a friend or family member: 10% of interviewees referred to grants or subsidized bank loans and 7% mentioned “other loans”. A few (1%) managers said they had used a subordinated loan, participation loan or similar financing structures.

Other financing forms as leasing, factoring or hire-purchasing were preferred by 23% from managers and 16% said they had used trade credit as a source of short-term financing. Regarding debt securities issuing, in the past six months, the majority of managers considered this type of financing not to be relevant for their needs.

Equity issuance or external equity investments were mentioned by 2% of managers as one of the sources of external financing they had used in the past six months (European Central Bank, 2009, Gallup Organization, 2009).

Source: ECB (2009).

Figure 3. Internal and external sources of financing for EU SMEs (2009) The chart above shows the importance for the companies of the bank lending

products (as debt financing, overdrafts, working capital line or other credit loans) in the past six months, as another source of external financing – i.e. equity issuance, equity investors, debt securities are very low utilization. Looking at company characteristics, we can see that micro-companies (with less than 10 employees) were the most likely to

Daniel Bădulescu

30

use only internal funds in the past six months but, while, increasing the staff, a company is determined to use an external financing instruments. Regarding the sector of activity, we can notice that businesses in the industry sector were more interested to use both internal funds and external sources of finance in the past six months. Also, innovative companies were more active to seek and combine internal and external financing sources comparing with non-innovative ones (37% vs. 31%). On the other hand, the new-established companies (active for less than two years) were the most likely to have only used internal funds to finance their operations (22% compared to 14%-17% for longer-established companies) (European Central Bank, 2009, Gallup Organization, 2009).

2. Financial institutions structure and lending to SMEs

While SMEs trust regularly on bank financing is important to know what kind of market structure is more suitable for SME financing. The analysis of SME financing, various theoretical studies or empirical evidence provides a considerable quantity of information regarding relationship between structures of the financial institution, technologies, management. Moreover, recent researches (Berger, Udell, 2004, Beck et al., 2010) try to show some distinction between lending technologies versus relationship lending to understand the very different transactions technologies, focusing on the comparative advantages of different types of financial institutions in using transactions lending technologies versus relationship lending (Berger, Udell, 1996, Miller, 2003, Berger, Udell, 2004).

For our purpose, briefly we can define transactions lending as a banking technologies primarily based on “hard” quantitative data that may be observed and verified at about the time of the credit origination. This hard information may include: financial indicators computed from financial statements; credit scoring based on historical data provided by bank database, or SME itself, credit bureaus records; collateral registrations, or other information about solicitors from transparent sources (suppliers, payment incidents, external ratings, etc.). The main characteristic of this type of information is that it is relatively easily observed, verified, and transmitted through the communications channels within the financial institution.

On the other hand, the relationship lending technology is based mostly on “soft” qualitative information provided by certain specialized persons, through a long, continuous, often discrete but intuitive contact over time with the SME owner, manager or company’s staff, or with members of the local community. The soft information may include the character and reliability of the SME’s owner based on direct contact over time by the institution’s loan officer; the


31

payment and behavioral history of the SME regarding loans, cheques, deposits, other services to the SME by the institution; or the future prospects of the SME based of various data from SME’s suppliers, customers, or neighboring businesses, local authorities or community. The soft information is given both by to the loan officer or other banking staff, but in general it may not be easily observed or verified by others risk managers, or inside bank deciders, especially when they received this information through communications channels within the financial institution (Berger, Udell, 2004).

2.1. Does market concentration affect SME’s lending efficiency?

Several studies generally showed that a greater market concentration often result in a diminishing of credit access through any lending technology (Berger, Demirgüç-Kunt, Levine, Carlson, Haubrich, 2003). This comes about no mater of size, owner or country origin of parent bank but simply because the main financial actors in more concentrated markets may exercise greater market power. These institutions will choose to preserve or even increase their profit not only by an efficient activity or more flexible approach of SME requirements but through rising interest rates or fees on loans to SMEs. These institutions can be less interested innovation or in quality of service to the clients, based mainly on their sure position and power on the market. The banks can reduce the risk or implication in portfolio monitoring simply through tightening credit standards for SMEs. Some studies (Sharpe, 1990, Petersen, Rajan, 1995) show that this market power encourages the bank institution to press on a long-term implicit contract in which the borrower receives a lower interest rate in the short-term, but after a period the bank uses by its discretionary right to rise the costs of the loan (variable interests, advance repayment fee, administration fee etc) forcing the borrower to pay a higher-than-competitive rate in a later period.

2.2. What kind of bank for SME’s lending?

2.2.1. Are domestically-owned banks more interested in SMEs financing compared to foreign owned banks?

On the first sight, foreign-owned institutions may have comparative

advantages in SME technologies lending and domestically-owned institutions may have comparative advantages in relationship lending (de Haas, Naaborg, 2005, Berger, Udell, 2004). This assumption can be explained by following reasons:

Daniel Bădulescu

32

Foreign-owned institutions are part of large organizations, and these behavior can be assimilated with specific typologies of big banks actions on the market;

Foreign bank has often difficulties in processing and transmitting soft information over greater distances, through more managerial layers. Furthermore, they have to deal with multiple and different economic, cultural, language, and regulatory conditions environments which affect the relationship lending aspects;

Small and domestic banks are more suitable to finance SMEs because they are better engaged in “relationship lending”, a type of financing based on “soft” information collected by the loan officer having continuous, personalized, direct contacts with SMEs, with their owners and managers, and the local community;

On the other hand foreign-owned institutions settled in developing economies may have additional advantages in transactions lending to some SMEs because they have a better access at information technologies for collecting and assessing hard information, cheap funds or greater expertise, even training for loan officer and risk managers in their headquarters.

Some recent researches (Beck, Demirgüç-Kunt, Martinez, 2010), for a better understanding of the SME financing, tackle from the supply side using cross-country data, instead of large literature based of demand supply position. Based on an impressive collection of analyzed data(1) the results show significant differences across ownership types in lending technologies and organizational structures:

Foreign banks are more likely to use hard information relative to private domestic banks. The share of secured SME loans is higher among foreign banks than domestic banks.

Compared to domestic banks, foreign banks tend to be least likely to decentralize loan decision making and risk management, confirming the assertion that foreign banks use different lending techniques and organizational structures to reach out to SMEs.

In spite of all these different approaches, the results show that different lending techniques and organizational structures lead at similar results in terms of SME lending. Most notably, the researches find no evidence that foreign banks tend to lend less to SMEs than other banks. The conclusion of these studies is that different bank types, applying different lending technologies and organizational structures, can play an important role in financing SMEs, in developing economies.


33

2.2.2. What kind of banks are more efficient in the relationship with SMEs: state-owned banks versus private-owned banks?

State-owned institutions may have comparative advantages in transactions

lending comparing with privately-owned institutions which try to obtain comparative advantages in relationship lending, but these cannot always transform in an advantage. The explanation came from various evidence as:

In general, state-owned institutions are larger than private local banks (excepting private foreign banks), but this dimension often prolongs/ extends communication channels and negative affects network efficiency;

State owned- banks generally operate with government subsidies and often have mandates to supply additional credit to SMEs or specific industries, sectors, or regions. Apparently, this can be an advantage, both for banks or SME, but, in reality, the effects on SME lending are unclear or even an opposite effect. For example, some fund goes to SME unable to repay the amount at maturity or are not creditworthy, but are supported by different political or local power. In other case, these funds, instead to finance new, profitable business, based on strong cash flow, positive net present value projects are designated to repaid former credit, some of them in difficulty;

State-owned institutions may also perform inconsistent credits monitoring and avoid a firm, steady policy of collection (or forced execution) procedures, because of lack of market discipline.

2.2.3. Large banks or small banks? In the first stage we can admit that large bank institutions may have

comparative advantages transactions lending technologies which are based on hard information and small institutions may have comparative advantages in using the relationship lending technology which is based on soft information.

Referring on scale economies the large bank could take advantage from hard information processing, but disadvantaged in processing soft information because the difficulties to quantify and transmit this kind of data through the long communication channels. This may give comparative advantages in relationship lending to small institutions with lower administration costs, a less distinctive separation between ownership and management and fewer levels of management (Stein, 2002, Berger, Udell, 2002).

Finally, it is often argued that large institutions are relatively disadvantaged at relationship lending to SMEs because of organizational

Daniel Bădulescu

34

diseconomies, so this large bank prefer to enter in loan transaction and other wholesale services with large corporate customers. The empirical literature on this topic usually based the conclusions from the characteristics of the SME borrowers and contract terms on credits contract between SMEs and banks of different sizes (Berger, Rosen, Udell, 2003):

Large bank institutions are found to lend to larger, older, more financially secure SMEs, often argued that large institutions lending prefer borrowers with a clear implemented corporative governance,

Large banks are found to promote lower interest rates and obtain lower yields on SME loan contracts comparing with small institution which explained this differential through flexible, non bureaucratic and rapid procedures in credit assessment(Berger, Rosen, Udell, 2003, Berger, 2004);

Small banks are found to have more longer, privileged and personal relationships with their SME loan customers, comparing with larger banks, based on long distance, impersonal and short terms of their relation with customers, appreciated as weaker (Berger, Miller, Petersen, Rajan, Stein) and often unsatisfactory for a better loan decision;

Large banks institution appear to base their SME credit decisions more on strong financial ratios than on relationships.

3. Conclusions

The present paper try to offer an analysis of the role of different types of financial institution, their availability for SME lending , removing the opaque characteristic of this sectors on risk assessment, and a better acknowledgment of reasons and particularities, both from principal actors but from regulation and legislative framework, infrastructure etc.

First, financial institution structure – the presence in the market of different types of institutions and the competition among them – may have important effects on SME credit availability because institutions of different types may have comparative advantages in different lending technologies. The lending infrastructure – the information environment, the legal, judicial and bankruptcy environment, and the tax and regulatory environments – may directly affect SME credit availability.

Second, the presence of foreign-owned and state owned institutions, as well the presence of large and small institutions and the measure of financial institution concentration are elements that may affect SME credit availability through comparative advantages in the different lending technologies. In particular, a greater presence of foreign-owned institutions and a lesser presence of state-owned institutions are likely to be associated with significantly higher


35

SME credit availability in developing nations because foreign-owned institutions appear to have advantages in some of the lending technologies, and state-owned institutions appear to be generally disadvantaged.

Third, the result of our research strongly suggests that “better” lending infrastructures may make significant differences in SME credit availability directly through facilitating the use of the various lending technologies. A careful and restrictive regulatory environment may influence the financial institution structure, preventing some types of financial institutions to gain sufficient market shares in order to capitalize their comparative advantages in specific lending technologies and use in their interest the relative market power. It is the case of many developing countries in last decades that trying to reduce the considerable market share of state banks in favor of more efficient privately-owned institutions has to face now with particular problems generate by a very large presence of foreign owned bank in their banking sector.

Finally, we consider that a well balanced structure of banking sector, with important state banks, involved in large national projects, dynamic and flexible small private banks, closed to relationship lending, and a provocative foreign bank presence can exploit all opportunities on the economies, creating a large base for meeting SME financing requirements.

Note

(1) Survey data from 91 large banks of different ownership types across 45 countries.

References

Bădulescu, D., Bădulescu, Alina (2010), „Financial Constraints Facing SMEs: Some Theory and Evidence”, Metalurgia International, vol. XV, Special Issue no. 8

Beck, Th., Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli, Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad (2010), Foreign banks and small and medium enterprises: Are they really estranged?, http://www.voxeu.org/index. php?q=node/4828, [Accessed 10 May 2010]

Berger, A.N., Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Levine, R., Carlson, C., L., Haubrich, J., G. (2003), Bank Concentration and Competition: An Evolution in the Making, http://siteresources. worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/84797-1114437274304/jmcb_intro_final.pdf, [Accessed 10 May 2010]

Berger, A.N., Udell, G.F. (1996). Universal Banking and the Future of Small Business Lending, in: Anthony Saunders and Ingo Walter (eds), Financial System Design: The Case for Universal Banking

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Berger, A.N., Udell, G.F., „Small Business Credit Availability and Relationship Lending: The Importance of Bank Organisational Structure”, Economic Journal, 112: F32-F53, 2002

Berger, A.N., Rosen, R.J., Udell, G.F., „Does Market Size Structure Affect Competition? The Case of Small Business Lending”, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System working paper, 2003

Berger, A.N., Udell, G.F., „A More Complete Conceptual Framework for SME Finance”, World Bank Conference on Small and Medium Enterprises: Overcoming Growth Constraints, 2004

Buch, Claudia M., „Information versus Regulation: What Drives the International Activities of Commercial Banks?”, Journal of Money Credit and Banking, 35, 2003

Carter, D.A., McNulty, J.E., Verbrugge, J.A., „Do Small Banks have an Advantage in Lending? An Examination of Risk-adjusted Yields on Business Loans at Large and Small Banks”, Journal of Financial Services Research, 25, 2004, pp. 233-252

Cole, Rebel, A., Goldberg, L.G., White, L.J., „Cookie-cutter versus character: The Micro Structure of Small Business Lending by Large and Small Banks”, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 39, 2004, pp. 227-251

European Central Bank, Survey on the Access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises in the euro area: second half of 2009, http://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/other/ accesstofinancesmallmediumsizedenterprises201002en.pdf [Accessed 30 May 2010]

Gallup Organization, (2009), Access to Finance, Flash Eurobarometer 271, http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemlongdetail.cfm?lang=ro&item_id=3611, [Accessed 20 May 2010]

de Haas, R., Naaborg, I., „Does Foreign Bank Entry Reduce Small Firms’ Access to Credit? Evidence from European Transition Economies”, Working Paper No. 050/August, 2005, De Nederlandsche Bank NV

Irwin, R.D., Miller, M. (2003). Credit Reporting Systems and the International Economy, Cambridge: MIT Press

Lin, J.Y., Sun, X. (2006). Information, Informal Finance, and SME Financing, Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag

OECD (2000). Financing newly emerging private enterprise in transition economies, OECD Publication Services

OECD (2004). Promoting entrepreneurship and innovative SMEs in a global economy: Towards a more responsible and inclusive globalization, Istanbul, Turkey 3-5 June

OECD (2006). Policy Briefs, www.SourceOECD.org, [Accesed 20 May 2010] Pathrose, P.P. (2005). Banks must re-invent SME financing, http://www.thehindubusinessline.

com/2005/, [Accesed 26 May 2010] Petersen, M.A., Rajan, R.G., „Trade credit: Theories and evidence”, Review of Financial

Studies, 10, 1997, pp. 661-669 Toivanen, O., Cressy, R.C. (2000). Lazy Entrepreneurs or Dominant Banks? An Empirical

Analysis of the Market for SME Loans in the UK http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=300060/, [Accesed 26 May 2010] Sharpe, S.A., „Asymmetric information, bank lending, and implicit contracts: A stylized model

of customer relationship”, Journal of Finance, 45, 1990, pp. 1069-1087 Stein, J.C., „Information Production and Capital Allocation: Decentralized vs. Hierarchical

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67

The

Influ

ence

of t

he A

ctiv

e R

ate

of In

tere

st o

ver t

he F

inan

cing

Dec

isio

n of

the

Ent

erpr

ise

The Influence of the Active Rate of Interestover the Financing Decision of the Enterprise

�

Irena MunteanuPh.D. Lecturer

„Ovidius” University of Constanþa

Anca BranPh.D.

BCR

Abstract. The elaboration of some coherent strategies of development of

the long term firms requires the existence of material resources which ensures,

besides other necessary competences, the development and the pereniality of

the firm. The enterprise has multiple choices of financing its activities: the credit

lines, the treasury lines, the discount of the commerce effects, factoring, and

leasing and investment credits. Tasking into account the Romanian market,

one notices that the most important financing source at which the enterprises

appeal to is represented by the nongovernmental credits. The main purpose of

the article is to determine how the modification of the rate of interest can influ-

ence the structure of the capital and which are the particularities of this depen-

dency for the Romanian market.

Key words: rate of interest; degree of indebtedness; credits; termanent capital.

�

JEL Codes: C10, G32.

REL Codes: 10B, 11E.

Th

eore

tica

l an

d A

pp

lied

Eco

no

mic

s

68

Introduction

In the financial administration of the

enterprise, there are differences between the

necessary and the already existing of the

financial resources. This fact is due to the

differences between the firm premises and

the personal funds or is due to some disorders

in the cashing of economic results.

In both situations, the enterprise will

seek within the financing and credit market,

the necessary specific products for the

covering of these necessities.

In short, the financing of the enterprise

can be made through credit and treasury lines,

the discount of commerce effects, lump or

factoring. On long terms, the financing is

made in more cases for the implementation

of an investment. In this respect, there are the

investment and the leasing financing credits.

One should not forget about the possibility of

capital drawing through the stock exchange,

stock issue or other specific products.

By taking into account the Romanian

market, one notices a growth the

nongovernmental credit and in a smaller

measure of the volume of factoring or

leasing operations. As a result, the following

the research is oriented towards two

directions and tries to answer two questions:

1) Does the modification of the active

rate of interest influence the credit decision

at the level of the enterprise?

2) In what way does the bank credit

constitute a financing form of the enterprise?

2. The wording problem

Starting from the idea that the active rate

of interest has an influence over the credit

decision adopted at the level of the enterprise

through the study that we continue to

develop we will try to determine in what way

does the modification of the rate of interest

determine the capital structure within the

enterprise and which are the particularities

of this dependency on the Romanian market.

By using some statistical mathematical

models, we will quantify the nature of the

correlation between sizes, as well as its force.

The study is based on the real data,

extracted from the financial situations of an

enterprise, which uses the bank credit as a

form of finance. For the rate of interest they

used data published by the Romanian

National Bank and for the considered

enterprise, the indicators were calculated

based on financial situations. Thus, a

package of entry data of the models which

are presented used within the analyzed

model.

3. The correlation analysis

The correlation analysis is used in order

to study the intensity of the connection

between two or more variables. In a strict

sense, the correlation is a measure of

intensity of the connection between

variables. The statistic connections, taking

into account the type of the considered

variables, can express either associations (in

the case of nominal variables), or correlations

(in the case of numeric variables). In the

considered model, the correlation will be

measured. This can be expressed through

covariance, the Pearson correlation

coefficient of the Spearman and Kendall

correlation orders. Within the following

made analysis we will refer to the Pearson

correlation coefficient.

69

The

Influ

ence

of t

he A

ctiv

e R

ate

of In

tere

st o

ver t

he F

inan

cing

Dec

isio

n of

the

Ent

erpr

ise

The Pearson correlation coefficient

is noted with ñ(X,Y), and is defined by the

relation:

N,i,N

)y)(x(

)Y,Xcov()Y,X(

yx

N

iyixi

yx

11 =σ×σ×

µ−µ−

=

=σ×σ

=ρ

∑=

in which:

cov(X, Y) means covariance;

xi, y

i, µ

x, µ

y are values of the correlated

variables and their medium level;

N- number of the pair of values;

σx, σ

y- quadric medium exception for X

and Y.

The correlation coefficient is obtained

through the standardization of the

covariance. The value of the correlation

coefficient is between -1 and +1. If this one

receives the zero value, then there is no

relation between variables. The ρ plus signal

shows a direct connection (as the values of

the X variable grow, the values of the Y

variable grow, too) and the minus signal, a

reverse connection (as the values of the X

variable grow, the values of the Y variable

decrease). The absolute value of ρ indicates

the intensity of the connection, which is: the

closer it gets with more than 1, the stronger

the connection, respectively the closer it gets

to zero, the weaker the connection when the

correlation coefficient equals with +1, it

indicates a perfect connection between

variables, and when a correlation coefficient

equals with -1 it indicates a perfect reverse

connection.

4. The econometric model of analy-sis of the rate of interest - the indebt-edness degree correlation

In order to emphasize the influence of

the modification of the active rate of interest

over the credit decision over the level of an

enterprise, we will relate at two indicators

which quantify the debt, i.e. the general debt

degree and the financing debt degree. These

were calculated for the October 2000-March

2004 period at each of the moments in which

it was appealed to the banking credit

financing.

Let us note the general debt by GD, the

total debts by TD, the personal capitals by

PC, the financing debt degree by FDD, the

long and medium financial debt by LMFD,

and by PEC the permanent capitals. For the

calculation of these indicators the following

formulae were used:

PECLMFDFDD

;PCTD GD

=

=

.

Based on the data extracted from the

financing situations of the enterprises one

calculated two indicators, the results being

presented in Table 1. For the entrance

variable named rate of interest, the data were

extracted from the Romanian National Bank

communications at the respective data.

Based on the entrance data the Pearson

correlation coefficients were calculated for the

connections: The rate of interest - The

financing debt degree, The rate of interest -

The general debt degree and The general debt

degree - The financing debt degree (Table 2).

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In Table 2 the Pearson correlation

coefficients are presented under the form of

a matrix. Each hole contains information

regarding the correlation between two

variables (the horizontal and the vertical

ones), the corresponding signification

threshold and the considered number of

observations (N). In the considered model,

the variables are the following: the active rate

of interest, the general debt threshold and

the financing debt threshold.

The entrance data of the correlation model

Table 1

The signification threshold offers

information about the probability of

correcting the obtained results. In other

words, it will indicate us the error degree of

the model, for the analyzed enterprise. As

one can see the results can be considered

significant, the error probability being less

than 1%.

The Pearson correlation coefficient

Table 2

N Data The active

rate of interest

(%)

The general debt

degree (%)

The financing

debt degree (%)

1 30-Cct-04 18.75 33.20 22.52 2 31-Dec-04 17.96 34.99 24.95 3 30-Mar-05 10.75 120.50 130.30 4 30-Iun-05 8.00 205.30 180.60 5 30-Sep-05 8.25 204.50 190.50 6 31-Dec-05 7.50 229.43 194.88 7 31-Mar-06 8.47 163.56 108.97 8 30-Iun-06 8.50 184.49 110.03 9 31-Dec-06 8.75 136.81 80.93 10 31-Mar-07 8.08 113.49 83.03

Source: Personal calculations made based on

the financing situations of the enterprise and the

National Romanian Bank Reports 2004-2007.

The number of observations N= 10 refers

to reference numbers. These are presented

in the first column in Table 1 and correspond

to calendar data when the report was done,

covering the October 2004-March 2007

period. Suitable to each N observation (that

is the calendar data) there are three variables

of the model to be considered: the rate of

interest (column 3, Table 1), the general debt

degree (column 4, Table 1) and the financing

debt degree (column 5, Table 1).

The rate of

interest

The general

debt degree

The financing

debt degree

The Pearson coefficient

1,000 -0,885* -0,772*

The signification threshold

- 0,001 0,009

The rate of interest

N 10 10 10 The Pearson coefficient

-0,885* 1,000 0,928*


0,001 - 0,000

The general debt degree

N 10 10 10 The Pearson coefficient

-0,772* 0,928* 1,000


0,009 0,000 -

The financing debt degree

N 10 10 10 * The correlation is significant - the

probabilty to mistake is less than 1%

5. The dissemination of results

If one follows the first line of Table

2, one notices the three corresponding

coefficients of the connections between

the rate of interest and the other variables.

It is obvious that the relation between the

rate of interest and the rate of interest is a

direct and perfect correlation, that is why

the value of the indicator is 1 and the

threshold signification result has an error

less 0,000 %.

71

The

Influ

ence

of t

he A

ctiv

e R

ate

of In

tere

st o

ver t

he F

inan

cing

Dec

isio

n of

the

Ent

erpr

ise

For the relations between the rate of

interest and the general debt degree and the

rate of interest and the financing debt degree

correlations, the values of the Pearson

coefficient are -0,885 and, respectively, -

0,772. These values show a very strong

connection between the two pairs of

variables, since they are so close to -1. From

the presentation of the model, one remember

the idea in accordance with which the value

of the coefficient gets closer to 1 or -1 as the

connection between the two variables

becomes stronger. The minus signal

indicates the nature of the correlation, which

in the two analyzed cases is indirect: a growth

of the rate of interest determined a subtraction

of the debt degree and the other way around.

The second line of the table indicates the

values of the Pearson correlation coefficient

calculated for the connections between the

general debt degree and the other variables. One

notices the value of +0,928 of the coefficient

for the connection: the general debt degree - the

financing debt degree. The value being very

close to +1 it certifies a direct and strong

connection between the two variables. Due to

the fact that the importance of the result is very

big we can come up with the idea that for this

enterprise financing is almost one hundred per

cent identified with the bank crediting.

One can notice the big threshold of

signification of the proposed model, the error

probability being less than 1%.

6. Conclusions

The results of the research made will be

made in two directions: one refers to the

proposed model and the other to the

financing of the enterprise. The realized

shaping leads us to the following

conclusions:

1. There are some connections between

the three variables.

2. The results of the statistical-

mathematical shaping certify the indirect

correlation between the Rate of value and

the General debt degree, which means that

it sustains the fact that a growth of the rate

of value on the financial market lead to a

subtraction of the general debt degree and

the other way around.

3. The proposed model certifies an

indirect connection between the Rate of

interest and the Financing debt degree.

4. The proposed model can be

considered relevant because in a big measure

the results are significant, taking into account

the fact that error probability is in most of

the cases less than 1%. This means that the

results are relevant, the probability to be

correct being higher than 99%.

Regarding the financing of the enterprise

the present study certifies through the

proposed econometric model that there is a

strong connection between the modification

of the rate of interest and the financing

decision of the enterprise. The correlation

between the General debt degree and the

Financing debt degree is given by the values

of the Pearson coefficient, very closed to +1.

Thus, within this study case a

characteristic of the Romanian financing

market is: although there is a large palette of

financing products, the enterprises chose in

most cases the banking credit.

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References

Bran, P., Ionela, Costicã (2005). Finanþele

întreprinderii, Editura Economicã, Bucureºti

Jaba, E., Grama, A. (2004). Analiza statisticã cu

SPSS, Editura Polirom, Bucureºti

Hawkins David (1993). The Business of Factoring,

Mc Graw - Hill Book Company Europe

BNR- Annual Report, 2004, 2004, 2006

www.bnro.ro

International Business Research; Vol. 5, No. 8; 2012 ISSN 1913-9004 E-ISSN 1913-9012

Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education

47

Small and Medium Enterprises’ Access to Financing – A European Concern: Evidence from Romanian SME

Ionica Oncioiu1

1 Tomis University, Romania

Correspondence: Ionica Oncioiu, Tomis University, Romania. E-mail: [email protected]

Received: May 3, 2012 Accepted: May 30, 2012 Online Published: July 1, 2012

doi:10.5539/ibr.v5n8p47 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ibr.v5n8p47

Abstract

While small and medium enterprises (SME) are experiencing a period of financial and economic crisis, the European Union is providing interesting business funding opportunities for the 27 European Members States. Empirical research shows that the factors driving SME financing decisions are complex, a state of fact reflected also by an ambiguous theoretical literature. On the one hand, this paper discusses the main characteristics of SME financing in Europe and provides against this background an analysis of the impact of the funds absorption on sustaining economic growth for Romanian SME. The results confirm the fact that for Romanian SME the access to financing is a priority issue in the actual economic situation. On the other hand, the paper points out some avenues for further research on this topic.

Keywords: structural funds, operational program, cohesion policy

1. Introduction

The principles of the European Union funding of SME have gradually emerged and are constantly analyzed for improvement. Unfulfilled or only partially achieved expectations to the propertyless, deviations from the model for better or worse, complaints, problems, deficiencies noticed in the comparison, all of them are challenges needed to be met by training operations that EU experts will bring out. Given the political interest which European structures manifested in this direction, this process will undoubtedly continue, because it allows better management of financial resources and an increase with large positive effects. Furthermore, access to finance is the most important factor promoting employment, growth and innovation in SME in Europe. Given the size of the Structural Funds, the European Commission tried not to leave to chance the “right to know”. In agreement with the Member States, there were established a number of obligations to make the mechanisms of release of these funds be transparent and thus enabling people to know how their money is used.

According to a widely accepted understanding of SME, these are enterprises that have up to 500 employees, are legally independent and whose managers assume financial, technical and commercial responsibility. I follow all through this paper an understanding of SME which follows the one promoted in the European Commission recommendation 361/2003/CE: the category of SME is represented by enterprises with less than 250 employees, have an annual net turnover of up to 50 million and / or having total assets of up to 43 million euros (www.europa.eu.int/enterprisepolicy/smedefinition).

The research period focused in this paper encompasses the years 2007 – 2009. (Note 1) The research methodology used was based on document analysis, secondary data analysis and statistical analysis. The analysis of levels of funding granted through different EU financial instruments has been conducted on basis of statistical analysis of financial information from European Commission budget.

2. Structural and Cohesion Financing Sources for SME

According to the Guidelines on financing of small and medium enterprises, funding may be made by calling the internal sources (equity capital) and / or external funding sources (http://www.finantare.ro/ghid-finantari.html).

The internal funding sources are:

• Contributions of the owners or associated members.

• Resources generated by the company’s activity (retaining profit).

www.ccsenet.org/ibr International Business Research Vol. 5, No. 8; 2012

48

Internal funding sources have some advantages, such as preserving the independence and financial autonomy, because it creates no additional binding (interest, guarantees), or maintaining borrowing capacity, being a reliable mean of financial support of the enterprise’s needs. They also bear disadvantages because the owners have fewer funds to invest in other more profitable activities than the activity which generated the financial overflow (alternative cost).

External financing sources of SME include: loans, grants, and capital market instruments. The needed borrowing is obtained by the analysis of the evolution indicators of costs that are generated by the SME development. This need should be determined from the planning stage of development. Depending on the characteristics of this necessary, one develops the company’s financing policy. External financing is necessary if the SME does not have sufficient internal resources to cover the investments necessary for the planned activities.

Regardless of the country, it is intended to facilitate access of SME to external financing sources, especially venture capital, micro-loans, financial mezzanine, and the development of a stimulating legal and business environment. Attracting capital is one of the conditions necessary for both establishing a successful business (especially SME) and for ensuring its development. The use of own resources or loans is often insufficient for start-up firms or those with strong growth potential.

Risk aversion often cause investors and banks to avoid financing companies in the early stage of business. On the other hand, many entrepreneurs need advice regarding the advantages and disadvantages of various forms of funding and how it would be proper to present investment projects in front of the potential donors. In addition, SME often have a poor equity situation, which is subsequently affected by late payments. In fact, an EU annual report 2010-2011 revealed that, depending on the country, SME expect on average between 20 and 100 days to collect bills, and one in four cases of insolvency are due to late payments (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies /sme/facts-figures-analysis/performance-review/files/supporting-documents/2010-2011/annual-report_en.pdf).

Investors hesitate to invest in start-up companies because of high transaction costs and because the returns do not compensate for risk. Therefore, these companies usually seek a venture capital, which may provide the amounts necessary for entering the market and developing faster. The venture capital is essential for the innovative SME’ financing and for the assurance of the best investment opportunities. However, in Europe, venture capital market is fragmented, which affects cross-border investments and growth potential of venture capital funds and reduces the level of investment. Therefore, given the need to improve SME’ access to financing (and especially for the innovative ones), the European Commission established facilitating cross-border investments as one of the main objectives, and initiated some measures to overcome regulatory and tax obstacles at EU and each Member State level.

To become competitive, European venture capital markets wish to increase their efficiency and profitability, and a way to achieve this goal is by extending the benefits of a single venture capital market to facilitate cross-border transactions. The European Commission will evaluate the options for the introduction of a private placement regime to facilitate cross-border investments to stimulate the development of venture capital funds in Europe and will assist Member States to promote programs which stimulate investments.

Regarding financial mezzanine, this is a hybrid financing instrument that combines features of equity and loan and increases the possibilities of companies’ financial option. In fact, financial mezzanine can be an important complementary source of financing firms. The most important instruments of mezzanine financing include private placement instruments (private mezzanine) and capital market instruments (public mezzanine).

Mezzanine capital is an appropriate solution especially when the requirements for financing may not be covered by traditional loans. Hybrid forms of financing can be employed also in less dynamic periods (e.g. maturity phase) to optimize the financial mix. Cases of refinancing are also suitable for using mezzanine capital. In these stages of the business, financial mezzanine is an attractive option for companies with positive cash flows and developing perspectives to attract additional funds. Mezzanine financing is inappropriate for restructuring, because in these phases capital flows are volatile and more difficult to predict. Further, financial mezzanine is not recommended for companies with an unstable position on the market and negative forecasts of development, with a high debt rate and accounting and financial weaknesses.

The mezzanine financial instruments are little used now, compared with traditional financial loans, but amid a trend of change and rapid evolution of financial markets, where the survival and development of the companies will require substantial resources, it is estimated that this form of financing will grow significantly.

Micro-loans can be another useful tool to achieve major objectives, like the development of small businesses, but also increasing social welfare or creating new jobs. However, many start-up companies face difficulties in


49

accessing small loans (fewer than 25.000 Euro). With regard to accessing micro-loans, the European Commission, European Investment Fund and European Investment Bank developed a common initiative known as Joint Action to Support Micro-Finance Institutions in Europe JASMINE, which aims to develop micro-loan supply in Europe (http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/microfinance/JASMINE/index.htm). The key actions which are intended in order to achieve this goal are:

• Providing technical assistance for micro-financing institutions to help them be credible financial intermediaries and obtain capital more easily;

• Financing of non-banking financial institutions’ activities, so that they can grant more loans.

The program aims to improve access to financing for small businesses, for unemployed people or for people without a current job, who would like to become providers of independent activities, but are unable to access traditional banking services. This program began in 2009 with a three-year pilot phase and an initial capital of 50 million Euros.

3. Current Scenarios for Financing SME

The increasing attention paid in the last decade to SME in most countries of the world, as a result of the recognition of their major contribution to economic development and generating new jobs in the economy, is reflected in the development of various public financing schemes. There are two significantly different concepts at the basis of their design and operation:

1. Financing schemes for SME based on governmental economic policies, which aim to achieve certain economic and social objectives by financing with priority some certain categories of firms. Adherents of this approach are the Japanese, who are currently preferentially financing through a variety of public schemes, small businesses which develop strongly and with great potential for job creation (Klein et al., 2003).

2. Financing schemes for SME focused on market requirements, which aim to provide financial resources, but under the same or very close conditions to the market conditions. The main concern is to avoid causing distortions in market competition, which might advantage certain categories of firms. These schemes, which forecast modest subsidies to SME financing costs, have a less sensitive role in stimulating them. In Europe, there are especially in Germany and the UK approaches based largely on this model, while in the period 2007-2009, the previous approach was predominantly used.

Romanian SME’ requirements consider the types of investment needed during the development of their commercial activities, the risks related to investments which will be financed, and the factors to be considered when selecting a funding source. In choosing the source of funding for SME several aspects should be carefully considered: what kind of source of funding is best suited to the business’ objectives, what financing size can meet the needs of the business and its own assessment of the company, which will be made in order to assess the ability of the business, to have access to financing and to repay it. When the financing source is chosen, the following factors should be taken into account (Nicolescu & Nicolescu, 2008):

a) the costs included in obtaining financing: different types of financing involve different costs, like the costs of financing services, which may be interest rates, flat fees, commissions, etc., but also the anticipated cost, which includes all costs before receiving approval for funding, for example, the evaluation of assets, fees for processing application forms, requests, authorizations, approvals, legal and fiscal taxes, etc.

b) the availability of funds, since business requires funds in accordance with its plans. Therefore, when selecting the source of funding, it would be beneficial to consider the availability of financing funds, the period necessary for the approval process and the type of reimbursement offered.

c) the terms of funding; one should take into account, before applying for funding, the following issues:

• the eligibility criteria required to be met by applicants in order to receive funding;

• the size of the offered financing, which is necessary to match the real needs of the business;

• the existence of guarantees and / or type and size of the required guarantees, the assessment terms of guarantees required by the types of funding. If the enterprise has its own guarantees to cover the need of guarantees, the costs of the financing services are smaller, compared with the case when it has to seek help of a guarantee fund;

• the crediting period and grace period offered by the type of financing. The entrepreneur should check whether these match with the type of business, stage of development and the ability to repay the financing;

• the interest rate required by the lender, which can be fixed or variable;


50

• the financing currency: in case of foreign currency as financing currency, it is advantageous for companies to involve in export, since in this case the risk and currency exchange costs can be avoided;

• the type of reimbursement requested: there are seasonal activities which means for long-term investment loans that, during certain seasons, there may not be significant sales, which can generate revenue to enable repayment by monthly or quarterly installments. In this case, it is important that financing should provide flexibility for reimbursement payments, such as full reimbursement at the end of the loan;

• the enterprise’s own assessment regarding the size of company and its ability to access financing, dividend policy (the company may request co-financing from external sources also for current activity, if also the shareholders reinvest the profit), shareholders’ willingness to accept the participation of donors in enterprise management, enterprise’s business plans and strategies for future development (for example, investment plans, the development of new markets and new products);

• the use of funds, since in search of funding, each SME knows exactly for what purpose it will implement the investment and how to increase the business. In accordance with these aspects, the enterpriser will consider the funding offer relating it to the company’s ability to repay the financing in accordance with the repayment schedule (scheduled payment dates). He will consider further whether the funding harmonizes with the business’ development and its ability to repay financing (credit, leasing, etc.), and the financial management forecast of the business (the management policy with regard to collecting money from customers and paying suppliers).

Bearing all these in mind together with the needs of SME as the largest and increasingly important economic sector, which became dominant in many branches and sub-branches of activity of the national economy, I concluded that there are not only in Romania, but also in other countries, an infinite number of principles for funding SME, among which:

• conducting direct marketing activities to publicize the availability of financing and eligibility criteria that are to be met; thus one can identify the SME that meet the criteria on the one hand, but also arouse the interest of others to design their business so that it becomes eligible for financing on the other hand;

• collaboration, cooperation and informing between all economic, administrative and political links involved directly and / or indirectly in funding the programs;

• generating information by each actor involved, according to its position in the process and providing funding for information transmission to all people;

• the analysis of the received information, the preparation and transmission of feedback by each actor to all others that are or may be concerned;

• adequate learning and practicing of methods and procedures that will operate at all times during the relationship of funding by all actors involved;

• ensuring in good faith the guarantees established in the financing relationship and restoring or attributing them to the entitled ones;

• strict adherence to deadlines concerning communication and payments as provided by law and / or signed contracts in the funding relationship by all direct or indirect actors involved in it;

• sanctioning of deviations in communication and payment terms by bearing the created damages, the compensation of those affected adversely, and loss of the advantages which the guilty parties might have obtained.

Applying any of these principles will inevitably reveal details concerning the value of the principles that can complement or complete the list above.

4. An Outline of Financing SME in Romania

In Romania, public schemes which promote SME financing can be divided mainly into four categories (Figure 1).

Financing schemes by grants provide, under certain conditions, grants for SME. Generally, these grants address companies from certain economic sectors or areas of the country. Most often, there are financed investments in equipment and, more rarely, in capital. The basic principle of providing grants is financial co-participation, which implies the allocation by the SME of a part of the funds necessary for the whole project at a clearly stated minimum level. Such schemes were operationalized through some foundations (CRIMM, FIMAN) or governmental agencies (the National Agency of Small and Medium Enterprises, the National Agency for Regional Development, the National Employment Agency) and ministries (Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, etc.).

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52

Table 1. Operational programs

No. Operational Program Management Authority Structural instruments

1. Sector Operational Program for

Transport

Ministry of Transport (www.mt.ro) European Regional Development Fund,

Cohesion Fund

2. Sector Operational Program

“Environment”

Ministry of Environment and Sustainable

Development (www.mmediu.ro)

European Regional Development Fund,

Cohesion Fund


“Competitiveness”

Ministry of Economy and Finances

(www.mfinanţe.ro)

European Regional Development Fund

4. Regional Operational Program Ministry of Development, Public Work and

Housing (www.mdlpl.ro)



“Human Resources Development”

Ministry of Labor, Family and Equal

Opportunities (www.mmssf.ro)


6. Operational Program “Increasing of

Administrative Capacity”

Ministry of Interns and Administrative

Reforms (www.mai.gov.ro)

European Social Fund

7. Operational Program, Transport” Ministry of Economy and Finances

(www.mfinanţe.ro)


8. National Rural Development

Program (NRDP)

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural

Development (www.maap.ro)

Source: White Charter of Romanian SME’s in 2009.

The billions of Euros allocated via Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund come from taxes paid by EU citizens and ought to be managed in an efficient, transparent and impartial way. The situation on 30.11.2009 regarding submission and approval of projects, signing contracts and making payments by grant recipients is presented in Table 2. Table 2. Situation on 30.11.2009 regarding submission and approval of projects

Operational

Program

Current

reporting/

Previous

reporting

Allocations UE

2007-2009

(cumulate)

EURO

Submitted Project Approved Projects Degree of

fund

absorption

(%)

Number Total Value (Lei) Number Total projects

value (lei)

PO Regional 30.11.2009 1.175.429.871 2.828 29.892.174.379 672 6.771.361.067 22,65

31.10.2009 1.175.429.871 2.582 27.663.593.075 648 6.468.220.815 23,38

Difference - 246 2.228.581.304 24 303.130.252 -

POS Environment 30.11.2009 1.288.182.545 133 13.508.646.650 64 5.797.014.726 42,91

31.10.2009 1.288.182.545 133 13.459.355.351 64 5.797.369.833 43,07

Difference - 0 49.291.299 0 -355.107 -

POS Transport 30.11.2009 1.307.638.271 41 15.739.705.408 17 3.083.146.959 19,58

31.10.2009 1.307.638.271 41 15.739.705.408 17 3.083.146.959 19,58

Difference - 0 - 0 - -

POS Increasing

Economic

Competitiveness

30.11.2009 730.266.902 5.304 29.382.497.423 1.236 4.326.590.928 14,72

31.10.2009 730.266.902 4.981 28.007.635.207 1.082 3.874.987.097 13,83

Difference 323 1.374.862.216 154 451.603.829 -

POS Human

Resources

Development

30.11.2009 995.700.446 5.202 32.083.136.025 912 3.584.644.236 11,17

31.10.2009 995.700.446 5.088 31.920.475.360 864 3.521.740.311 11,03

Difference - 114 162.660.665 48 62.903.925 -

PO Administrative

Capacity

Development

30.11.2009 89.157.178 654 647.718.127 109 202.983.844 31,34

31.10.2009 89.157.178 634 610.897.851 108 200.983.844 32,89

Difference - 20 36.820.276 1 1.190.000 -

PO Technical

Assistance

30.11.2009 56.358.210 28 201.841.322 15 130.104.476 64,46

31.10.2009 56.358.210 22 181.387.635 14 130.061.476 71,70

Difference - 6 20.453.687 1 43.000 -

TOTAL 30.11.2009 5.642.733.423 14.190 121.455.719.334 3.025 23.835.026.234 19,62

31.10.2009 5.642.733.423 13.481 117.583.049.887 2.797 23.076.510.335 19,62

Difference - 709 3.872.669.447 228 818.515.899 -



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Romania’s EU accession has brought more opportunities for small business financial support. Funding will be granted for the following major areas:

• productive investments and preparation for the market competition of enterprises;

• support for strengthening and upgrading the productive sector through investments in facilities, equipment, acquisition of technology patents, trademarks, licenses and know-how;

• procurement of professional services and access to international standards certification, implementation and certification of quality management systems, implementation and certification of environmental management systems, product certification and eco labeling, development and accreditation of testing / analysis laboratories, metrology calibration.

Further support will be given to the Romanian companies’ access to new markets and their internationalization by:

• stimulating SME’ participation to fairs and exhibitions to promote their products and business internationalization;

• facilitating access to credit and financing by the introduction and development of financial instruments appropriate to small businesses;

• strengthening the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME;

• creating and developing innovative financial instruments that will help entrepreneurs involved in research projects and implementation of research results;

• development of entrepreneurship as an important factor in strengthening existing businesses and in supporting start-ups will be another major objective of financial support policies;

• encouraging the development of specific business infrastructure such as incubators and business centers;

• promoting SME’ access to quality advice for the development of projects / business plans, for product development and business strategies, as well as the development of inter-firm corporations and joint investments, investment consulting, financial consulting, marketing activities and promotion of companies, management and human resource development, organization of production, modern technologies, information technology and e-business, innovation and protection of intellectual property rights;

• encouraging inter-firm cooperation, in order to integrate them into the clusters and supply chains in various areas of economic activity.

The estimated value of European support given to the SME sector through the mentioned measures will be around 800 million Euros for the whole period 2007-2013 (http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/fiche/nsrf.pd). This funding will be ensured from the Structural Funds of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the programming documents.

Among the financial instruments, SOP Increase of Economic Competitiveness (SOP - IEC) is the most important resource for non-reimbursable financial assistance addressed to the SME in Romania. The program is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). On the one hand, SOP IEC answers to the first priority of the National Development Plan (NDP) 2007-2013, namely “developing competitiveness and knowledge-based economy”, and, on the other hand, to the second priority of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), namely “long-term development of economic competitiveness”, contributing at the same time to the implementation of all the other priorities of the NSRF.

The aim of implementing the program is that, by the year 2015, the average productivity increase will be of approx. 5,5% annually, which will ensure the achievement of a level of about 55% of the EU average.

Loan financing schemes aim to meet separately or cumulatively two categories of requirements:

• SME’ access to credit, given the difficulties of obtaining them from banks because of their distrust in this class of customers and the lack of necessary know-how on the side of banks;

• partial subsidy of credits interest, taking into account the very high interest rates and their fluctuating character.

In Romania, several credit lines for SME were opened, mostly having international financing - the World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Union PHARE, etc. The Romanian government participated with a certain quota to all these lines. These credit lines are selectively available to SME in certain economic sectors and / or in certain areas of the country and for certain types of businesses. Similarly, some programs of interest subsidies on loans were opened, in the operationalization of which the Ministry of Finance, the


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Romanian Development Agency, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, etc. were involved. They targeted certain types of companies, often generating jobs or exporting activities. The usefulness of these guaranteeing funds lays in their participation, under certain conditions, to the partial credit guarantee required by entrepreneurs, alleviating this way their access to credits. They offer further an overview of the types of accessible public funding to entrepreneurs, helping them to determine the funding sources they need.

SME have started to use more diversified portfolios of finance and the structure of portfolio is much different from one sector to another. Largest share have the own resources, followed by bank loans and, thirdly, by the sources of financial assistance grant, the budget allocations and grants from the European Union. The share of capital market sources is insignificant.

Although own resources remain the main source of financing investment projects, the importance of bank loans tends to increase. The use of own resources in investment projects varies from sector of activity to sector of activity, from 100% for SME in hotels and restaurants sector to 51,70% in the case of agricultural enterprises. SME in trade often apply for bank loans (59,10%), followed closely by SME from transport and communications (51,70%), and those from agriculture (46,80%). With regard to financial assistance programs supported by the European Union, enterprises from agriculture emerge as the ones applying most frequently for this source. Thus, 26,60% of the investigated agricultural enterprises intend to use this source of financing their investments, while only 0,60% of SME from the commercial sector expressed this intention. This small share of this source in financing portfolio for investment in companies from the commercial sector stems from the fact that this sector is not eligible for financial assistance grant (http://www.cnipmmr.ro/statistica/2011sem1.pdf).

Concerning the ways of financing economic activities chosen by entrepreneurs / managers of SME in 2009, the investigation reveals the following results: 64,42% of companies were self-financed, 51,05% of companies received bank loans, 29,57% of companies used leasing, 8,74% of SME used grants, and 3,91% of them used factoring as a source of funding. One should note that 3,09% of SME acquired loans from specialized institutions, 2,73% had access to the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME, and 1,46% of companies issued shares on the capital market. This highlights the average self-financing capacity of businesses, and the relative maintaining of the degree of bank loans and leases compared to previous years, as well as an reduced use of other methods of financing in most SME in Romania.

When taking the age of SME as criterion, one notices the following (Table 3):

• companies not older than 5 years are mostly self-financed (65,82%);

• 5 to 10 years old companies have a higher percentage of SME that used factoring (4,64%), but a lower percentage using grants (7,54%) or loans from specialized financial institutions (2,32%);

• among the 10 to 15 years old firms no economic units were financed by issuing shares on the capital market, and there is the highest proportion of SME that were credited (60,58%), have turned to leasing (33,58%), loans from specialized financial institutions (5,11%), and accessed the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME (3,65%);

• over 15 years old enterprises have the largest shares of economic units that were financed by issuing shares on the capital market (2,25%) and by grants (12,16%).

One can thus observe a more pronounced diversification of financing methods in the case of companies younger than 10 years, due to superior expertise and higher credibility in front of the banks / financial institutions.

Table 3. Overview of methods of financing SME taking the age of SME as criterion

No. Method of financing Age of SME

0-5 years 5-10 years 10-15 years over 15 years

1. Self-financing 65,82% 65,51% 59,85% 62,61%

2. Bank loans 46,43% 48,99% 60,58% 56,76%

3. Leasing 26,02% 32,17% 33,58% 29,73%

4. Issue of shares on the capital market 1‚28% 1‚74% 0,00% 2,25%

5. Grants 7,65% 7,54% 9,19% 12,16%

6. Loans from specialized financial institutions 3,06% 2,32% 5,11% 3,15%

7. Factoring 3,06% 4,64% 3,65% 4,50%

8. Guarantee of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME 2,04% 2,90% 3,65% 3,15%



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An analysis of the financing methods according to the regional affiliation of SME reveals the following main aspects:

• businesses in the South-Western region recorded a higher share of firms that issued shares on the capital market (4,48%), used grant funds (14,93%) and factoring (8,96%);

• economic units in the North-Eastern region have the highest percentage of SME that resorted to bank loans (60,96%) and the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME (4,81%);

• companies from the Western region were mostly self-financed (77,33%) and used to lesser extent bank loans (38,67%);

• companies in North East, South West, Centre region and Bucharest are singled out by the absence of SME that issued shares on the capital market, the firms in the South, West and Central region were not funded by factoring, and SME in the West did not use the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME.

Turning to size of SME as criterion, one obtains the following results (Table 4):

• the lowest share of firms that were financed by bank loans, leases, grants, factoring, loans from specialized financial institutions or using guarantees from the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME is among the small businesses;

• the highest percentage of firms which resorted to leasing, issues of shares on the capital market, loans from specialized financial institutions or using guarantees from the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME is among small businesses;

• medium-sized enterprises turned to a greater extent to loans from banks (66,14%), grants (18,11%) and factoring (10,24%), while the small-sized enterprises are mostly self-financed (65,69%).

Table 4. Overview of methods of financing SME taking the size of SME as criterion

No. Method of financing Firms’ dimension

Micro Small enterprises Medium enterprises

1. Self-financing 65,69% 62,78% 62,99%

2. Bank loans 40,69% 63,33% 66,14%

3. Leasing 21,90% 39,44% 38,58%

4. Issue of shares on the capital market 0‚82% 3‚06% 0,00%

5. Grants 4,90% 11,94% 11,11%

6. Loans from specialized financial institutions 2,45% 4,17% 3,15%

7. Factoring 1,63% 5,56% 10,24%

8. Guarantee of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME 1,63% 4,17% 3,94%


Assessing the methods of financing SME by industry highlights the following features (Table 5):

• companies from services sector have the lowest share of SME that used the funding by bank loans (37,82%) and leasing (26,47%), but present an increased percentage of firms that used grants (12.61%);

• most companies from industrial sector were self-financed (70,61%), but also used factoring as a source of financing (5,70%);

• SME in constructions sector recorded the highest percentage of companies that turned to leasing (39,82%) and to the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME (7,08%);

• companies from tourism sector registered higher percentages of SME that contracted bank loans (64,00%) and loans from other specialized financial institutions (12,00%), and registered the smallest share of firms were self-financed (52,00%);

• companies operating in constructions, tourism and transport are marked out by the absence of SME that were financed by issuing shares on the capital market;

• tourism and transport companies turned to the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME.


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Table 5. Overview of methods of financing SME taking the industry of SME as criterion

No. Method of financing SME by Industry

Industry Construction Trade Tourism Transport Services

1. Self-financing 70,61% 59,29% 61,24% 52,00% 67,21% 65,97%

2. Bank loans 57,46% 53,10% 55,26% 64,00% 40,98% 37,82%

3. Leasing 32,02% 39,82% 28,23% 28,00% 29,51% 26,47%

4. Issue of shares on the capital market 0,44% 0,00% 2,87% 0,00% 0,00% 1,26%

5. Grants 10,96% 6,19% 7,18% 12,00% 1,64% 12,61%

6. Loans from specialized financial institutions 3,07% 5,31% 2,15% 12,00% 3,28% 2,94%

7. Factoring 5,70% 5,31% 3,59% 4,00% 1,64% 2,94%

8. Guarantee of the National Credit Guarantee Fund for SME 3,95% 7,08% 1‚67% 0,00% 0,00% 2,52%


Financing is perceived by Romanian SME as a crucial constraint for their development. In order to improve this situation, it is necessary to act on multiple levels, the government, banks and institutions having the main role in ensuring the transparent, effective and fair development of a range of tools meant to support SME.

5. Concluding Discussion

Considering the results presented above, one can identify and outline areas where the following priority actions are recommended:

1. Gradual establishment of a system of guarantee funds for financing entrepreneurs at national and regional level.

2. Significant reduction of the amount of guarantees and fees required by banks in lending in accord with the EU practices.

3. Simplifying procedures for obtaining credit.

4. Interest subsidy on loans to SME, at least in certain sectors with competitive advantages and for certain groups (youth, disabled persons, etc.).

5. Developing a national training program for entrepreneurs in order to access structural funds based on the principle of public - private partnership.

6. Providing adequate grace period on loans for investment. It is also necessary to give credits for investment for a longer period of time, at least 5-7 years. These two measures would facilitate a comprehensive and rapid development of SME.

7. Transforming a state bank in a development bank (investments) for SME.

Other measures that may be adopted in order to improve SME’ access to finance are:

1. A more intense publicity concerning the guarantee funds in Romania on the one hand, and simplifying guarantee mechanisms on the other hand.

2. Promoting the use of non-traditional financial instruments such as venture capital funds.

3. Creating a database with information on funding opportunities for SME (financial aid grant, guarantee funds, venture capital funds).

4. Practicing more attractive interest on loans from the unemployment insurance budget, the National Agency for Employment, and for certain interest groups that could initiate and develop business that fall within the SME sector, such as students or the unemployed.

There is a paradox in the financing SME by grants: they are relatively small and yet Romania does not succeed in successfully absorbing funds, which represents an intriguing problem, especially since the European Union provides Romania with millions of euros, mostly non reimbursable money. These funds were not absorbed because there was not a public-private partnership based on fair principles in line with the practices of the EU acquis (Nicolescu, 2008). Bureaucracy and lack of information are considered by SME as main obstacles in the way of accessing grants. 50% of projects are completed exceeding the budget, 25% fail completely, and only 25% of projects are successfully completed (http://www.cnipmmr.ro/statistica/2011sem1.pdf).


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The programs funded by the Romanian government were not the most important in terms of allocated sums, but were a partial solution to social issues arising from economic reforms, established a general framework for development of SME private sector and paved the way for future funding programs from alternative internal or external sources, because they helped identifying the main needs of private SME, the main problems in carrying out such programs and helped training funds beneficiaries to participate in other grant programs.

After the involvement of banks in these financing programs offered by foreign institutions or by the Romanian government, the commercial banks have become more interested in financing SME. They perceived these programs as useful in working with SME, have acknowledged how to develop their range of products and services and have learned to attract new customers or to support those existing during the development effort. Their financing programs for SME started to adapt to the needs of this segment of customers, but still need improvements.

SME financing has come a long way in recent years in Romania. However, as in many other countries in the region, there is still a long way to go until one reaches the appropriate support for the development potential of SME. Not only is the number of SME in Romania lowest, producing little more than 50% of GDP, while in the EU they produce over 70% (www.animmc.ro), but also their long-term viability is fragile. Incentives such as tax reduction, technical assistance, special purpose grants, etc., are necessary, but it would be beneficial to be also implemented and monitored carefully, in order to support SME sector development in a sustainable way. The different financing schemes for SME can be considered useful only if they reach the target market and are properly implemented, since each of these schemes has both advantages and weaknesses.

The Small Business Act is an important step towards a Europe of entrepreneurs and provide active support for the development of SME in Europe by facilitating access of SME to European programs, increasing their participation in public contracts, reducing bureaucracy, eliminating barriers to cross-borders work and facilitating SME access to finance, particularly risk capital, micro-loan and mezzanine finance.

References

Audretsch, D. B., & Thurik, A. R. (2004). A model of the entrepreneurial economy. International Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 2, 143-166.

Berica, C. (2011). ‘Structural Funds – Value Added and Costs’, Munich Personal RePEc Archive, paper no. 28151, January 14, 2011. [Online] available at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen. de/28151/4/MPRA_paper_28151.pdf, accessed on February 21, 2012.

Dunning, J. H., & Sarianna, M. L. (2008). Multinational enterprises and the global economy. International business, 70(1), 920.

http://business.rol.ro/content/view/45044/2/

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/atlas2007/fiche/nsrf.pdf pagina 64

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http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-ET-11-001/EN/KS-ET-11-001-EN.PDF

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http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/microfinance/JASMINE/index.htm

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Klein, M. W., Schuh, S., & Triest, R. K. (2003). Job creation, job destruction, and the real exchange rate. Journal of International Economics, 59(2), 239-265.

Kotey, B., & Slade, P. (2005). Formal Human Resource Management Practices in Small Growing Firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 43(1), 16-40.

Nicolescu, O., & Nicolescu, C. (2008). Intreprenoriatul si managementul întreprinderilor mici si mijlocii. Editura Economică, 402-409.

Nicolescu, O., Maniu, A. I., Nicolescu, C., & Anghel, F. (2010). White Charter of Romanian SME’s in 2009. Ed. Olimp, Bucureşti, p. 221.

Polverari, L., & McMaster, I. (2011). Territorial cohesion and new cohesion policy: Challenges for old and new Member States. 1st ESPON Scientific Conference, Malmo.


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http://www.espon.eu/export/sites/default/Documents/Projects/ScientificPlatform/Interco/INTERCO_DFR_Annexes.pdf.

The European Charter for Small Enterprises.

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www.animmc.ro.

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www.insse.ro.

www.ueapme.com.

Notes

Note 1. There was a two years delay in making public the statistical data concerning the Romanian SME during this period, the statistical data was made public in 2011. A further aspect playing an important role when choosing this research period (2007-2009) is related to the impact of the economic crisis on the Romanian economy generally and on SME sector in particular. Starting with 2010, the general impact of economic crisis on SMEs in Romania became drastic, and they were no longer able to meet the criteria and requirements for access to funds. Thus the policy of access to funds slowed down, and an inquiry on the present topic during 2010 would not be so rewarding. Compared to other European countries, apart from the large number of SME that declared bankruptcy in Romania, many others, according to a survey conducted in May 2009 by the National Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises, had faced a decrease in sales figures (21-50%).

Intrebari de verificare Cand apare riscul valutar? Cand un client cu credit, are nevoie de acordul expres al bancii? Care sunt principalele categorii de cheltuieli? Ce este ROBOR? Ce este descoperit de cont? Ce reprezinta gradul de indatorare? Ce face Centrala Riscurilor Bancare? Din ce este compusa rata dobanzii variabile la credite? Care sunt principalele drepturi si obligatii aferente creditelor? La ce se utilizeaza un descoperit de cont? Ce reprezinta DAE? Din ce se compune? Ce tipuri de carduri exista?