Investment Plan for Europe: EIB and Santander sign two agreements to support SMEs and finance renewable energy projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banco Santander have signed two agreements with Investment Plan for Europe guarantees to provide financing for Spanish SMEs and help develop investment in renewable energy. The first of the agreements is a new EIB instrument to spread credit risk across both institutions. This financial instrument will enable Banco Santander to expand its capacity to grant loans to finance new investments from Spanish SMEs, which will be able to benefit from the favourable financing conditions made possible by the EIB both in terms of maturity and interest rates. In concrete terms, the EIB’s participation in a EUR 500m loan portfolio will help Banco Santander provide EUR 1bn in financing for SME projects. This financing is designed to boost the competitiveness of Spanish businesses by driving economic growth and job creation.
Support for renewable energy and infrastructure
The EIB and Banco Santander have also signed another risk-sharing agreement to help the latter finance new renewable energy projects with an investment cost of at least EUR 400m. In addition, as part of this operation, the EIB will take on a EUR 200m participation in a Banco Santander loan portfolio covering renewable energy and infrastructure. Both agreements were signed under an Investment Plan for Europe guarantee, enabling the EIB – via Banco Santander – to provide Spanish SMEs and new projects with the financing needed to accelerate their investments in economic activities that do not have easy access to credit.
Source:EIB
