EIF uses NextGenerationEU funds to mobilise €2.5 billion of new financing for Spanish small businesses wishing to invest in innovation, sustainability and competitiveness

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• The EIF has announced the signature of guarantee agreements with Andbank (via Actyus Growth Finance), BBVA, CaixaBank, EBN Banco, ICF, Inveready, Kutxabank, MicroBank, Santander, Tresmares and Unicaja (via Seneca Direct Lending).
• The guarantees are being made possible by a contribution from the Regional Resilience Fund financed by NextGenerationEU, together with own funds from the EIF.
• The agreements will enable these financial institutions to channel €2.5 billion in new financing to Spanish small businesses and mid-caps for investments in innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.
• Over 6 000 companies are expected to benefit from this financing, promoting investment in areas such as research, development and innovation, energy efficiency, the social economy and digitalisation.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) – the European Investment Bank Group’s specialist provider of investment capital to benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps – and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise have signed guarantee agreements with 11 finance companies enabling them to channel €2.5 billion in new financing into the real economy. The financing will go to SMEs and mid-caps wishing to invest in innovation, sustainability and competitiveness. The guarantees are being made possible by a contribution from the Regional Resilience Fund (RRF) financed by NextGenerationEU, together with own funds from the EIF. The RRF contribution is being made via the InvestEU Member State compartment programme.

More than 6 000 Spanish SMEs and mid-caps are expected to benefit from the new funding, making it easier for them to invest in areas such as research, development and innovation, energy efficiency, the social economy and digitalisation. The investment will enable companies to face the dual green and digital transition, and will also contribute to competitiveness in this key sector for Spanish economy.

^{Photo caption: Director General of International Financing of the Spanish Treasury Inés Carpio, EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone, Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Spain Lucas González Ojeda and representatives of the 11 guarantee agreement signatory organisations.}

The signatures were announced at the InvestEU State Compartment Guarantee Programme under the Regional Resilience Fund presentation event today in Madrid. The event was attended by Director General of International Financing of the Spanish Treasury Inés Carpio, EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone, Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Spain Lucas González Ojeda and representatives of the different financial institutions taking part in the programme. Representatives of the Spanish autonomous communities, investment ecosystem and business sector also attended.

The signatory financial institutions include commercial banks, regional promotional banks, debt funds and alternative lenders. This broad range of institutions will ensure that companies can access a wide variety of debt instruments in line with their different capital needs.

“These guarantee agreements will make it easier for SMEs and mid-caps to access the financing they need to invest in innovation and speed up their green and digital transition,” said EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone. “They are a clear example of public-private sector cooperation that will bolster the competitiveness of Spanish companies, and show how the EIF can mobilise huge volumes of financing by working with all financial institutions.”

“These signatures will enable an almost complete rollout of the fourth Regional Resilience Fund instrument, which joins the direct co-financing instrument, the intermediated instrument for sustainable urban development and tourism, and the alternative financing instrument for sustainable development. We will continue supporting business financing with an integrated approach, using instruments tailored to the needs of each company,” highlighted Director General of International Financing of the Spanish Treasury Inés Carpio.

“Events like the one held today underline the capacity of the Recovery and Resilience Facility – financed by NextGenerationEU – to support and implement public investment, thereby driving growth and employment in Spain and Europe. The Regional Resilience Fund – part of Spain’s recovery and resilience plan – will back SMEs, contributing to green and digital growth and improving the competitiveness of the European economy.” said Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Spain Lucas González Ojeda.

The InvestEU State Compartment Guarantee Programme under the Regional Resilience Fund is seeing a high level of market acceptance, meaning that just six months after its launch, guarantee agreements positively impacting all 17 Spanish autonomous communities and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla have been signed with 11 financial institutions.

The guarantees are being made possible by Spain’s recovery, transformation and resilience plan financed by NextGenerationEU, and more specifically thanks to the Regional Resilience Fund. The Regional Resilience Fund contribution is done through the InvestEU Member State compartment, which is enabling EU member countries to use funds from the recovery and resilience plans to contribute to the EU guarantee expanding the range of financing available to support national priorities.

The guarantee agreements were signed with Andbank (via Actyus Growth Finance), BBVA, CaixaBank, EBN Banco, ICF, Inveready, Kutxabank, MicroBank, Santander, Tresmares and Unicaja (via Seneca Direct Lending).

The event also featured a panel session on the opportunities offered by the InvestEU guarantee programme for Spanish SMEs. The panel included InvestEU beneficiary companies like ECOALF, IriusRisk and NEOS Surgery.

Photo caption: Director General of International Financing of the Spanish Treasury Inés Carpio, EIF Chief Investment Officer Marco Marrone, Acting Head of the European Commission Representation in Spain Lucas González Ojeda and representatives of the 11 guarantee agreement signatory organisations.

Background information

European Investment Fund

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

InvestEU and the Member State compartment

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that invest in projects, leveraging on the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Member States can contribute to the EU guarantee by channelling some of their cohesion policy and Recovery and Resilience Facility funds to the InvestEU Member State compartment. With this voluntary contribution, EU countries can benefit from the EU guarantee and its high credit rating, giving national and regional investments more firepower.

Regional Resilience Fund

The Regional Resilience Fund was created to facilitate access to NextGenerationEU loans from the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for the autonomous communities, with the aim of boosting investments and developing projects in eight priority areas: social and affordable housing; urban renewal; transport and sustainable tourism; the energy transition; water and waste management; the care economy; research, development and innovation; and the competitiveness of industry and SMEs.

The fund is led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, which takes input from the autonomous communities and cities for investment decision-making and looks to the EIB Group as a strategic management partner. The initial phase of the RRF includes the activation of up to €3.4 billion in financing via:

• a direct financing mechanism, to co-finance EIB-supported operations in sectors like renewable energy, clean transport and sustainable infrastructure;
• an intermediated mechanism managed by financial intermediaries selected by the EIB, to support projects in urban development and sustainable tourism;
• two instruments intermediated by the European Investment Fund that will facilitate SME financing for innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.

Press contacts

EIF

Maite Cordero: m.corderomunoz@eib.org  | Tel. +34 606 66 82 62

Website: www.eif.org – Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

X: @eif_eu 

European Commission

María Canal Fontcuberta: maría.canal-fontcuberta@ec.europa.eu