Germany: EIB and Commerzbank agree on new global loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is again making substantial loans available for companies from Germany’s Mittelstand. To this end it today concluded a financing agreement covering 400 million euros with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. The new funding framework will benefit small firms as well as medium-sized companies.

More than 95 per cent of German companies belong to the “Mittelstand” (small and medium enterprises, SME). In the financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises the EIB cooperates with financial institutes such as Commerzbank. The newly-signed loan agreement focuses on the financing of projects to be implemented in Germany.

Commerzbank, whose core business includes the Mittelstand, has long been one of the most important financing partners of the EIB in Germany. The new loans are to be made available to companies from various industries.

Furthermore, the two banks today concluded an additional financing agreement for 200 million euros. These funds are earmarked especially for the financing of smaller projects on the part of the public and private sectors in the energy field.

“SMEs remain a key topic for the EIB because it is they who are driving the growth in Europe. Commerzbank is an ideal partner for Mittelstand business in Germany. Thanks to its expertise, it is not only able to identify suitable projects in a reliable manner, but it also ensures that the funds are transferred swiftly – a crucial aspect for the clients,” said Wilhelm Molterer, Vice President of the EIB and responsible, among other things, for financing in Germany.

“As the leading bank for the Mittelstand in Germany we have been utilising the financing possibilities offered by the business development banks for many years already,” said Markus Beumer, a Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank and responsible for Mittelstandsbank. “With the two new credit lines we can continue to meet the growing needs of our clients in the Mittelstand and the local authority sector – thus allowing us to offer them individual, long-term financing solutions with flexible terms for interest rates and maturities.”