On 2 December 2004 Mr Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, and Mr Jean-Claude Detilleux, Chairman of the Crédit Coopératif Group, signed an agreement whereby the EIB will make EUR 100 million available to Crédit Coopératif.
This global loan is intended to finance, on particularly keen terms, projects mounted by:
- SMEs and individual entrepreneurs (at least 70% of the global loan), particularly in the microcredit segment (less than EUR 40 000);
- public interest bodies in sectors such as regional infrastructure, environmental protection, health and education or other public amenities.
The EIB, the European Union's development bank, raises large volumes of capital on the financial markets on particularly favourable terms. Its mission is to contribute to the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States.
Since 1982, this is the eleventh global loan that the EIB has granted to Crédit Coopératif, which is thus entrusted with the task of financing small-scale ventures that meet the EIB's objectives in the industrial, service, health and education, environmental protection and urban rehabilitation sectors.
Under the previous agreements several hundred business customers of Crédit Coopératif and its associates have already benefited from these advantageous loans.