- EIB’s first loan agreement with an Italian bank entirely dedicated to promoting innovation initiatives under Italy’s National Transition Plan 4.0.
- The agreement is designed to unlock €300 million in financing for businesses investing in innovation to foster the growth and development of small and medium businesses in Italy.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banca Ifis have signed an agreement to provide €300 million in new finance to support 4.0 innovative investments by small and medium businesses (SMEs) and mid-caps.
This EIB loan to Banca Ifis, with a nominal value of €150 million, is designed chiefly for leasing loans supporting innovative initiatives as part of the National Transition Plan 4.0. Under the agreement signed, Banca Ifis will guarantee the disbursement of an additional ceiling of the same amount, so making €300 million available to businesses.
This is the fifth agreement between Banca Ifis and the EIB – the EU bank's first ever operation with an Italian bank dedicated entirely to the innovative transition of small and medium businesses. This operation brings the amount of total investment unlocked by the EIB and Banca Ifis over the last four years to €700 million.
“Small and medium businesses play a key role in the economy. Besides creating jobs, these businesses tend to invest more in research and development and adopt emerging technologies. This operation consolidates our strong relationship with Banca Ifis, helping us facilitate access to finance for small and medium businesses, foster innovation and make the country more competitive,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.
“We are delighted to continue our partnership with the European Investment Bank by creating a new facility wholly dedicated to supporting the innovative transition of small and medium businesses in Italy. The fact that a prestigious and dependable institution like the EIB has joined us to launch the first project of its kind is an important acknowledgement of our ability to meet the requirements of businesses needing to speed up the innovation process to remain competitive on international markets", said Banca Ifis Chairman Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio.
In concrete terms, the EIB will lend €150 million to Banca Ifis via two contracts of €75 million each, with a maturity of 18 months. Banca Ifis will onlend the same amount to the Italian market for the same kind of investments. The new credit line, with more favourable interest rates, will be eligible for SMEs (with a consolidated workforce of up to 249 employees) and mid-caps (with a consolidated workforce of up to 2 999 employees) wishing to finance investments in innovation or acquire innovative goods under the government’s National Transition Plan 4.0, including for financial leasing operations with a minimum term of 24 months.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the past five years, the EIB Group has provided more than €58 billion in financing for projects in Italy.
To find out more about the terms of this agreement and any limitations or other details not covered in this press release, please refer to the Factsheet posted in the Transparency section of www.bancaifis.it.
Banca Ifis reserves full discretion in assessing the creditworthiness and requirements that must be met for the granting of loans.