France: EIB Group strengthens partnership with Crédit Agricole to finance the energy transition and innovation in French and EU businesses

• Crédit Agricole and the EIB Group have confirmed their joint commitment for 2024 onward to supporting the green transition of French and EU SMEs and mid-caps, as well as the public sector.
• In 2023, the EIB Group and Crédit Agricole signed four loan deals and two guarantee deals via the EIF under the InvestEU guarantee, totalling over €1.6 billion.

Longstanding partners in fostering the growth of French businesses, Crédit Agricole Group and the EIB Group stepped up their joint initiatives to help small and medium firms (SMEs) and mid-caps finance their green transition in 2023.

Six agreements were signed last year, for over €1.6 billion all told, providing a range of financing solutions to meet the needs of French and EU firms as they transition towards a low-carbon economy.

The following four EIB financing operations in France (totalling €735 million) will boost support for green mobility, climate energy transition, innovation and digitisation:

• CA Mobility (Agilauto) customers, SMEs and mid-caps; projects involving financing low-emission vehicles (€100 million)
• Loans to Lixxbail and EFL’s SME and mid-cap customers in the European Union, mainly in France and Poland, with a climate action component of at least 30% of the financing (€400 million)
• Loans through Crédit Agricole’s network of regional banks to French SMEs and mid-caps for investment in innovation and digitisation for at least 50% of the financing (€150 million)
• Investment projects by LCL’s SME and mid-cap customers that combat climate change with renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon vehicles, for at least 60% of the financing (€85 million)

The following two European Investment Fund (EIF) guarantee operations under the InvestEU programme will provide financing for innovation and sustainable development in France:

• €85 million for investments in innovation and digitisation by SMEs and mid-caps; 70% guaranteed for an estimated 650 transactions with an average value of €130 000
• €210 million to support the sustainable development of SMEs in the agricultural sector; 70% guaranteed and estimated to grant 1 150 SMEs an average of €130 000 each

Crédit Agricole Group is a key partner of the EIB Group, and the largest in France by financing volume. The partnership contributes significantly to achieving climate action and environmental sustainability objectives in France and Europe, particularly in Poland (through pan-European lines and portfolio securitisations totalling €200 million) and Italy (€400 million in covered bonds, 25% of which is earmarked for the green transition).

The two entities are committed to strengthening their collaboration from 2024 onwards on joint investment projects and strategic areas. This dynamic cooperation has made it possible to identify several avenues — in line with EU priorities — for working on new projects in the fields of energy transition, education and public health, and the bioeconomy, as well as new regional programmes in cooperation with the EIF.

“We are delighted to continue working with the EIB Group. This partnership is perfectly in line with the commitments made as part of Crédit Agricole Group’s project for society, especially as we help our business and farming customers make their energy transitions,” said Olivier Gavalda, Deputy CEO at Crédit Agricole S.A. in charge of universal banking.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle remarked that “The EIB and Crédit Agricole are stepping up their joint operations to meet the investment needs of French businesses in support of climate action and innovation. This collaboration is a very concrete demonstration of the importance of the EU effort to support the green transition of SMEs and the public sector, in France as in the rest of the European Union.”

EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt added, “Our strong partnership with Crédit Agricole illustrates Europe’s support for the real economy in France. By working hand in hand, the EIF and Crédit Agricole will be able to help French SMEs and farmers with unprecedented financing volumes, based on shared priorities like innovation and sustainable development.”

Background information

About Crédit Agricole Group

Crédit Agricole Group is the leading financier of the French economy, and one of Europe’s top banks. In the European Union the group is a leader in retail banking, the leading asset manager, the leader in bancassurance and the third-largest provider of project finance.
On the strength of its cooperative and mutualist foundations, its 145 000 employees and its 27 000 directors of local and regional banks, Crédit Agricole Group serves 53 million customers, 11.5 million members and 800 000 individual shareholders.
Thanks to a local universal banking model — with close cooperation between its local banks and the related business lines — Crédit Agricole Group can support the projects of its customers in France and around the world: be it in day-to-day banking, mortgages and consumer credit, savings, insurance, asset management, real estate, leasing, factoring, or corporate and investment banking.
It also stands out for its dynamic and innovative corporate social responsibility policy, based on a pragmatic approach that permeates the entire group and puts every employee into action.

About the European Investment Bank

The EIB, whose shareholders are the Member States, is the long-term financing institution of the European Union. It finances high-quality investment to pursue key EU objectives, in particular the just transition and global climate neutrality. In 2023, the EIB Group performed 15 intermediated financing operations for SMEs and mid-caps, for a total volume of €2.9 billion. Nearly two-thirds of the transactions supported these firms’ investments in the energy transition.

About the European Investment Fund

The EIF is part of the EIB Group. Its core mission is to support European SMEs by helping them access finance. The EIF designs and deploys venture capital, growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments specifically for this market segment. It thereby helps achieve the EU’s main strategic objectives, such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digital transition, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments previously available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme has three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.