The European Investment Bank (EIB) is extending a EUR 300 million new generation EIB loan for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to ING, the Netherlands. ING will act as a financial intermediary for the EIB funds, passing them onto Dutch SMEs to encourage economic growth.
The cooperation between the EIB and ING in favour of Dutch SMEs was welcomed at a signature ceremony in the ING Headquarters in Amsterdam on Friday 4 April.
“As part of its anti-crisis measures, the EIB will increase its lending in the EU by over EUR 15 billion in both 2009 and 2010; loans for SMEs will form an integral part of our extended offering”, said Simon Brooks of the EIB. “We will sign a new loan to ING today, making available EUR 300 million of EIB support for Dutch SMEs. We are very pleased with the step taken by ING today and are hopeful that our increasingly rich relationships with Dutch banks will lead to similar success in the future.”
“After entering into talks last year, the special moment has now arrived for ING to become the first Dutch bank to be able to attract EUR 300 million for SMEs through the EIB programme,” said Diederik van Wassenaer, CEO of ING Wholesale Banking in the Netherlands. “We have a longstanding relationship with the EIB and are pleased to be able to help Dutch SMEs take advantage of this EIB credit facility.”
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs also welcomed the initiative. “Borrowing is of crucial importance to companies under any circumstances. And we applaud the fact that this initiative from ING and the EIB will make it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to make investments - particularly now that market conditions are becoming more difficult,” said Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of Economic Affairs.
Small businesses play a key role in the Dutch economy and this EUR 300 million loan will be used to finance eligible investment projects undertaken by Dutch enterprises across all economic sectors with fewer than 250 employees. Small independent businesses in the Netherlands should start to benefit from the EIB Loan for SMEs within the coming weeks.
Background notes:
EIB loans to Dutch SMEs
9.2% of EIB financing in the Netherlands over the 5 past years, or EUR 375 million, was provided in the form of lines of credit, or indirect loans, to intermediary banks. The EIB extensively revised its product offering for SMEs in 2008, developing a new lending formula called EIB loan for SMEs, which is designed to be simpler, more flexible and more transparent to benefit a greater number of small businesses. In addition to the loan to ING mentioned in this press release, the EIB is currently appraising and negotiating new lines of credits with banks in the Netherlands, which are now known as “loans for SMEs” and which will allow the EIB to provide these intermediary institutions with finance for promoting projects undertaken by SMEs in the fields of industry, agriculture and services line with the EIB’s new SME criteria.
Other EIB financing in the Netherlands
In the five year period 2004-2008, the EIB provided around EUR 4bn to projects in the Netherlands, mainly in energy, the efficiency, diversification and security of energy provision (EUR 1.6bn); health and education, supporting the priority policy of improving the quality of life in urban areas (EUR 712m); trans-European transport networks (EUR 638m); and water and sewerage projects supporting the EIB’s environmental protection objective (EUR 551m). In 2008 alone, the EIB provided EUR 1.6 billion for projects in the Netherlands supporting the European Union’s objectives.