The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's development bank, is making EUR 80 million available to the OSEO Group in two loans: one amounting to EUR 50 million for financing investment by French SMEs and the other consisting of the second EUR 30 million tranche of the EIB's EUR 60 million contribution to the Business Start-Up Loans programme managed by the OSEO Group. The two loan contracts were signed on 6 October by OSEO's Chief Executive, Jean-Pierre Denis, and EIB Vice-President, Philippe de Fontaine Vive.
OSEO is a public industrial and commercial institution created in June 2005 to support the French Government's drive to promote SMEs, a major aim of its economic and industrial policy. It is the umbrella company for four entities: OSEO bdpme (corporate financing), the loan's end-user; its subsidiary OSEO sofaris (credit risk guarantees); OSEO anvar (financing of innovation; and OSEO services.
This first operation with the OSEO Group demonstrates the EIB's commitment to continuing its well-established partnership with BDPME. Previously, two EUR 50 million global loans were granted to BDPME in 2001 and 2003, and the first EUR 30 million tranche of an operation in support of the Business Start-up Loans programme was advanced in 2004.
By providing long-term resources at the keenest market rates, the EIB enables OSEO bdpme to expand its activities while passing on the advantageous borrowing terms in its loans to SMEs. The combined efforts of two public-service institutions - one at European and the other at French national level - in the pursuit of common objectives are thus creating a genuine catalytic effect in favour of SMEs.
By way of example, the EUR 50 million EIB loan granted to OSEO bdpme in 2003 has served to finance projects mounted by SMEs in various economic sectors, half of which small firms with fewer than 50 employees. All in all, joint EIB/OSEO bdpme financing under this operation has supported capital investment totalling over EUR 150 million.