Thomas ÖSTROS

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the EIB today signed a joint partnership action plan highlighting their strengthened cooperation and mutual development priorities and a strong shared emphasis on boosting public and private sector investment in Africa.

The EIB Group, consisting of the EIF and the EIF, has provided a guarantee for a mezzanine tranche of a synthetic securitisation transaction of around €130 million to the ´Bank für Tirol and Vorarlberg AG´ (BTV). The transaction was arranged by Erste Bank and is expected to provide capital relief under the EU Capital Requirements Regulation framework. It employs the use of a synthetic excess spread equivalent to the one-year expected loss of the reference portfolio. The capital relief provided by the transaction will enhance BTV’s risk-taking capacity and create additional lending headroom. As a result, BTV will create a new portfolio of eligible loans to SMEs and mid-caps of up to €435 million, mainly in Tirol, Vorarlberg, Vienna and southern Germany. The EIB Group operation is a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the current crisis puts a particular strain on SMEs and mid-caps, which are experiencing shortages in liquidity and funding lines.
 

The EIB has signed a €100 million loan agreement with Valmet, a Finnish developer and supplier of technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. The financing will support Valmet’s R&D response to important global trends, ranging from enhancing raw materials efficiency to efficiency in the use of water and energy, as well as using renewable raw materials and reducing Valmet’s customers’ emissions. The supported R&D will be carried out in Valmet’s locations in Finland and Sweden.