Raiffeisen Bank signed a loan agreement for 30m euro, the money being aimed at further developing lending activities for SMEs operating in rural areas. The move comes on the background of CEC's privatization, with the Austrian-bank among contenders. "We have been looking for possibilities to expand operations in Romania's rural areas, as this strategy is in line with our decision to compete for the CEC's takeover," said president Steven van Groningen. Analysts and local players have repeatedly said that one of CEC's strongest trump card is its network's nationwide rural coverage. CEC has more than 1,400 outlets all over the country, most of them being placed in rural areas. Currently, no other bank has such a wide reach. According to the World Bank definition, rural areas refer to towns and villages with less than 50,000 inhabitants.
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