This week DLL and Rabobank received an additional EUR 250 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for SMEs and corporate enterprises looking to make investments. The EIB is making this facility available to support the recovery of the business community in the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. Businesses ranging from SMEs to corporate enterprises needing a bank loan or lease to fund their investments and that meet the criteria can take advantage of an interest-rate discount of up to 0.65%.

“Now that the Dutch economy is starting to recover, entrepreneurs need extra support in order to invest. The previous EIB tranche of 300 million euros for bank loans more than tripled investment. With this extra support we aim to encourage businesses in the SME and large corporate sector to invest in a healthy company and thereby in a healthy Dutch economy", comments Paul Dirken, Director Businesses at Rabobank.

The EIB is providing EUR 150 million to DLL and the remaining EUR 100 million to Rabobank. This facility is expected to enable at least 250 entrepreneurs to obtain a loan on attractive terms. Milko Wijckmans, general director of DLL Netherlands, said with respect to the facility: “We are delighted to be able to offer Dutch entrepreneurs another interest-rate discount for new leasing applications for investments. These investments are often of vital importance for the ambitions of entrepreneurs. It is good that we are able to contribute to Dutch entrepreneurship in this way.”

The EIB is pleased to be able, through this further EUR 250 million tranche through Rabobank and DLL, to encourage Dutch entrepreneurs to invest. Vice-President Pim van Ballekom welcomes the agreement: “In the last few years, Dutch businesses have stood up to the economic crisis and definitely deserve some support. Over the past five years in the Netherlands, we have made almost three billion euros in loan facilities available to SMEs, of which more than 1.2 billion euros with Rabobank and DLL. The EIB always wants to do more in the Netherlands, with the overall objective to boost economic recovery and growth.” The EIB is the largest multilateral lending institution in the world and has the 28 European member states as shareholders. If these loans can be placed quickly, Rabobank and DLL will examine together with the EIB whether an additional tranche is possible in autumn 2015.

Criteria

The interest-rate discount is available to businesses with fewer than 3,000 employees. The facility is therefore available to both small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The total investment may not exceed EUR 25 million.

1,400 entrepreneurs have benefited

In the past six years (2009-2015) Rabobank has been able to provide loans to more than 1,400 SMEs at attractive rates thanks to similar funding from the EIB. Entrepreneurs who collectively provide 14,000 jobs in the Netherlands. On average, the loans amount to approximately EUR 835,000. It is mainly the agricultural sector and the food retail trade that have used this EIB facility, but entrepreneurs in other sectors can also benefit from it.