● The EIB and Unicaja have signed a €200 million guarantee agreement to make more financing available to small businesses and mid-caps, with a focus on innovation.
● The EIB guarantee will enable Unicaja to provide these companies with up to €400 million in new financing to make investments and meet liquidity needs.
● The operation will boost the competitiveness of Spanish small businesses and mid-caps and contribute to the EIB’s strategic priorities of promoting economic cohesion between regions and stronger EU capital markets.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Unicaja have signed a €200 million guarantee agreement enabling Unicaja to unlock up to €400 million in new financing to back Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps, with a focus on cohesion regions.
The goal is to expand the range of financing available to help these companies to make investments to strengthen their competitiveness and resilience, contributing to their growth and to job creation. The financing can also be used to cover the businesses’ liquidity needs.
This is the first guarantee agreement to be signed by the EIB and Unicaja, and represents another step forward in the EIB’s working relationship with all financial intermediaries to direct financing to the backbone of Spanish economy: SMEs and mid-caps. Approximately 60% of beneficiary companies will be in cohesion regions.
“This agreement with Unicaja strengthens the commitment of both of our institutions to supporting the competitiveness and resilience of Spanish SMEs. Mobilising €400 million in new financing will enable these companies to make investments that are key to their growth and job creation, particularly in cohesion regions,” said EIB Director of Financial Institutions Gemma Feliciani.
“For Unicaja, backing the growth and competitiveness of SMEs is not just a priority: it is part of our strategic vision. Our cooperation with the EIB strengthens this commitment and means we can take yet another step forward in this direction. This new agreement will enable us to offer more flexible financial solutions tailored to each company’s reality, helping them to turn their projects into concrete opportunities,” said Unicaja Director General of Business Banking Jesús Ruano. “This agreement will drive a greater number of larger projects, with rigorous risk control. Our goal is clear: bolstering industry and having a long-term positive on society.”
This agreement with Unicaja once again demonstrates the EIB Group’s role in promoting financial instruments like guarantees, helping to unlock capital to boost projects that support small and medium businesses, reduce risk exposure for financial institutions and strengthen the EU capital markets union, which is one of the EIB Group’s eight strategic priorities. The agreements also contribute to another of the EIB Group’s strategic priorities, namely economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union.
Photo caption from left to right: Unicaja Director General of Business Banking Jesús Ruano, EIB Director of Financial Institutions Gemma Feliciani and Unicaja Director General of Credit Risk and ESG Javier Pérez.
Background information
About the EIB Group
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, it finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
Around half of EIB financing in the European Union goes to cohesion regions, where per capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability.
In Spain, the EIB Group signed new financing worth €12.3 billion for over 100 high-impact projects in 2024, contributing to the country’s green and digital transition, economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.
About Unicaja
Unicaja is one of the main banks in the Spanish financial system. It is listed on the IBEX 35 and has a solid customer base of 4 million. It is a main player in its six home regions (Andalusia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Extremadura) and is active across the country.
It is characterised by its universal banking and sustainable business model (with prudent management of its commercial strategy and risk profile). This socially responsible model prioritises quality, innovation and digital transformation, and includes technology to improve customer service and efficiency.