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  • This historic operation marks the start of collaboration between the EIB and ELKARGI, Spain’s leading guarantee company by volume of guarantees granted.
  • The EIB will grant ELKARGI a counter-guarantee of up to €75 million, enabling the company to mobilise more than €110 million in funding resources.
  • The aim is to help Spanish mid-caps (less than 3 000 employees) obtain finance on more favourable terms.
  • The operation is being carried out under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF).

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and ELKARGI, a non-profit financial institution that aims to improve financial conditions for businesses, have signed an agreement to support companies, particularly those adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The EIB will grant ELKARGI a counter-guarantee of up to €75 million so it can channel over €110 million in finance to companies. The EIB’s counter-guarantee is backed by the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), as part of the European Union’s €540 billion package to respond to the economic impact of COVID-19.

The operation consists of a risk-sharing counter-guarantee scheme that allows the EIB and ELKARGI to increase their support for financing that promotes economic growth, competitiveness and employment. Thanks to the European Guarantee Fund, ELKARGI will be able to make financing available, through its guarantee, to medium-sized, non-SME companies with less than 3 000 employees with investment or working capital financing needs. The final beneficiary companies will be able to access the financing on favourable terms.

The aim of the European Guarantee Fund is to respond to the economic impact of COVID-19, ensuring that eligible businesses can obtain sufficient liquidity and access to long-term financing to weather the economic challenges caused by the pandemic.

“The agreement with ELKARGI demonstrates the EIB’s strong commitment to supporting Spanish small and medium-sized companies affected by the pandemic to meet their financing needs. As the EU bank, we are on hand to help businesses continue their development and investments in the medium to long term, helping to strengthen Spain’s business landscape,” says EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix.

ELKARGI’s CEO Zenón Vázquez also emphasised “the historic significance of our agreement with the EIB for ELKARGI. Beyond the recognition it gives us, it allows us to open up a new financing pathway for larger companies, which we believe we must also support. This agreement enables us to increase funding resources to €3 million, channelling this financing to medium-sized companies of up to 3 000 employees.”

Background information:

Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is one of the EIB Group’s key priorities in Spain. The Bank dedicated €4.195 billion to this goal in 2020, representing 50% of the EIB Group’s activity in the country.

The European Guarantee Fund (EGF) was set up by the EIB Group with contributions from Spain and other EU Member States to shield companies suffering from the COVID-19 crisis. Using nearly €25 billion in guarantees, the EGF allows the EIB and the EIF to quickly make loans, guarantees, asset-backed securities, equity and other financial instruments available to mostly small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-caps. The EGF is part of the European Union’s recovery package aiming to provide a total of €540 billion to boost those parts of the EU economy that have been hit the hardest.

ELKARGI

ELKARGI is a financial institution founded in 1980 by and for companies. It offers financial support and assistance to businesses, offering comprehensive short- and long-term financing solutions and economic and financial advice. With more than 40 years of knowledge and expertise, in the past year it has signed a total of almost €1 billion and has more than 22 000 member companies.