- SG Finans makes available EUR 90 million EIB credit line in Norway.
- At least 70% earmarked for Climate Action projects.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and SG Finans announce the launch of a EUR 90 million credit line for projects in Norway. While 70% of the funding is earmarked for Climate Action projects, the agreement also foresees that a minimum of 30% of the available funding will be channelled to projects in the SME sector. The EIB-financing will allow eligible clients to receive a reduction on their interest rate, which is especially relevant for business hit hard by the corona crisis. Eligible clients will receive a reduction on their interest rate provided by European Investment Bank.
“Since the coronavirus pandemic reached Europe the EIB has been fully mobilised to provide a strong and rapid response to face this unprecedented crisis. Nevertheless, the EIB's long-term financing on key policy goals continues in parallel, with a strong focus on climate action and environmental sustainability,” said EIB Vice-President Andrew McDowell. "Because once the threat of the corona virus will have subsided a potentially bigger danger is still looming: climate change. The economic fallout from the current crisis means we need to help businesses in all of Europe with all means available; doing so while keeping sustainable business models in mind, will mean that this can truly become a ‘green recovery’ for Norway and Europe."
“Our cooperation with the EIB is central in the ambition to facilitate our clients’ transition to climate friendly solutions,” stated Hans Einar Herzog, Deputy CEO at SG Finans. “We finance equipment to more than 50.000 businesses in the Nordic countries, which are facing a challenging economic conjuncture from the coronavirus pandemic. We have implemented several measures to support our clients and partners through this period, and with this new facility from EIB we will reiterate and further strengthen the important development of climate friendly and sustainable projects.”
The operation follows upon the EUR 90 million credit line signed in 2018, which has been successfully deployed to public transport projects such as electric and bio-fuel powered buses for public transportation, electric bicycles leasing programs for smart cities mobility initiatives and specialized equipment for the construction and maintenance of rail infrastructure. A landmark project was the financing of two of the worlds’ first electric heavy-duty excavators to support an SME entrepreneur investing in zero emissions technology to comply with the strict zero emissions construction sites requirements under implementation in Norway. The allocation of the new loan opened on May 1st, 2020.
SG Finans is part of Societe Generale Equipment Finance, a leading equipment finance company in Europe, fully owned by Societe Generale, one of Europe’s largest financial services groups. Societe Generale is present in 67 countries with a total of 147,000 employees serving 31 million customers.