The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed an agreement with BNL BNP Paribas to provide aggregate financing of EUR 200m to Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Total resources earmarked by the EIB for the SME sector in accordance with the new rules have increased to almost EUR 600m in the past month.
This operation with BNL provides for the financing, up to a maximum amount of EUR 12.5m each, of eligible projects proposed by firms active in the industrial and services sectors throughout Italy. The instruments used will include both long-term loans and financial or real estate leasing.
The EIB's new procedures governing loans for SMEs, designed to facilitate access to credit for companies with fewer than 250 employees against the backdrop of a financial crisis, are based on flexibility, simplicity, swiftness and transparency at the time of the approval and disbursement of funding to applicant businesses.
This SME operation with BNL BNP Paribas follows the one announced in December with Monte dei Paschi di Siena for EUR 250m. Smaller-scale operations concluded in recent days involve Centrobanca (UBI Group) for a total of EUR 50m, Mediocredito Trentino Alto Adige (EUR 60m) and Banca Popolare di Cividale (EUR 30m).
Note to editors
The European Investment Bank supports the political and strategic objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically sound projects. The EIB's shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the Bank. In 2007, the EIB's total financing amounted to EUR 47.8 billion, of which EUR 5.6 billion went to Italy, and it raised funds totalling EUR 54.7 billion on the capital markets. The EIB's financing priorities within the EU are: support for economic and social cohesion and convergence; research and innovation; the development of trans-European networks (TENs); support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); environmental protection and the urban environment; and lastly sustainable, competitive and secure energy supplies.