EIB Group Expands Financing Support For Italian Smes

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 15. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF), together the EIB Group, have signed a new agreement with BNL BNP Paribas to mobilize €335 million for the real economy, supporting investments and working capital needs of around 300 Italian companies, Trend reports via the EIB.

The agreement, announced by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and BNL CEO Elena Goitini, continues a long-standing partnership between the EIB Group and BNL BNP Paribas, following four previous securitization deals since 2018. Together, these initiatives have supported over 1,000 businesses and mobilized more than €2.3 billion in financing.

Under the new deal, the EIF guarantees a €111.6 million mezzanine tranche, fully counter-guaranteed by the EIB. The structure allows BNL to free regulatory capital and expand lending to SMEs with fewer than 250 employees and mid-caps with fewer than 3,000 employees.

Around 50% of the financing, or €167.5 million, will support projects in Italy's cohesion regions to reduce regional disparities, while roughly 30%, over €100 million, will target the agrifood sector, which accounts for about 15% of Italy's GDP.

The EIB, the EU's long-term lending institution, and the EIF together finance projects aligned with EU policy goals, including climate action, digitalization, cohesion, and economic development. In 2024, the EIB Group signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects, mobilizing more than €210 billion for energy security and startups across Europe.

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