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Bucharest, 5 th of October, 2022: ProCredit Bank, a digital, development-oriented commercial bank, celebrates 20 years of activity in Romania. Over the two decades, the bank has provided loans amounting to more than €2 billion to SME customers. The only 100% German-owned bank in the country, ProCredit Bank operates as a green bank that prioritizes two important pillars for society, financial and environmental.

A pioneer in offering green loans and sustainable development solutions since 2014, ProCredit Bank is an institution that actively finances and promotes investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, as well as environmentally friendly measures.

Over 20% of the current SME portfolio is represented by green loans. These include projects that support business activity in various sectors, such as energy efficiency for production processes or for the premises in which companies operate. In terms of portfolio structure, at the end of 2021, more than 32% of the total portfolio volume was represented by the manufacturing sector. Other important industries for the economy are also included in the top green loans granted, such as agriculture with 30% and trade with 13%.

ProCredit Bank does not offer financing to companies with unsustainable business models, such as those based on coal mining or fossil fuel power plants. Each client goes through a screening process to assess its environmental and social impact. Beyond the financial viability analysis, ProCredit Bank makes sure that each client it finances has a balanced or positive impact on the environment.

The decision to transform classic teller counters into 24/7 areas, replacing the in-branch work with cash, came in 2016, when ProCredit Bank became the first bank in Romania to introduce the concept of "cashless" branches. Together with the rest of the digital solutions, ProCredit Bank manages to optimize the way customers work with the bank, while maintaining a close relationship with them through dedicated advisors for both the SME segment and private individuals.

After 20 years defined by professionalism, consistency and dynamism, during which the institution has demonstrated that it takes the future as seriously as possible, ProCredit Bank is launching its anniversary campaign #RightDecisionsForTheFuture. For two decades, the bank's efforts have been directed towards making a positive impact on the development of the economy, by supporting and developing the SME segment, as well as offering facilities that encourage private individuals to save. Today, efforts are mainly supported by the sustainable loan policy and the development of digital banking facilities. The anniversary campaign confirms ProCredit Bank's commitment to become a catalyst for long-term economic development.

"At ProCredit Bank we think and act in line with our clients' needs, while prioritizing the urgency of the transition to a sustainable future. As a financing institution, we take responsibility for positively influencing the economic and social environment through our day-to-day activities. Sustainable development is a fundamental aspect of our business and we believe that the implementation of environmentally friendly policies and economic development should be fully aligned. The process of institutionalizing green loans has been gradual. The expertise we have accumulated in sustainable finance is irreplaceable, even if protecting our values has sometimes meant passing up business opportunities. Our 20 years of local activity have strengthened, in a practical way, our vision for Romania, and the next years will be about raising awareness, educating and instilling it in as many business sectors as possible," said Ștefan Manole, CEO ProCredit Bank Romania.

Also, the bank does not promote consumer loans and provides services based on both an understanding of each customer's situation and a thorough financial analysis, thus discouraging excessive customer indebtedness. Such practices underpin an effective credit risk management policy. Proof of this can be seen in ProCredit Bank's low non-performing loan ratio at the end of 2021 of only 1.7% of the total loan portfolio.

ProCredit Bank Romania is part of the development-oriented ProCredit group of commercial banks for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ProCredit Holding AG, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the ProCredit Group. In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit Group is also active in South America and Germany. The company's shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The main shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), the Dutch company DOEN Participaties BV, the KfW Development Bank and the IFC (part of the World Bank Group).

As the parent company of the group under German banking law, ProCredit Holding AG is supervised on a consolidated basis by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank.