Brussels, 28/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 28 July, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and BNP Paribas Fortis concluded a partnership agreement on a €150 million new-generation EIB loan for Belgian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Branches of the Fortis network will act as the financial intermediaries for the EIB funds, passing them on as loans to small and medium-sized enterprises to support their investment projects. The procedures and information relating to this operation will be put in place this summer.
This EIB loan for SMEs takes the form of a credit line that BNP Paribas Fortis will onlend to small businesses with fewer than 250 employees across a wide range of economic sectors eligible for EIB financing. The projects, financed up to a maximum of €25 million each, will have to be carried out in the European Union and be aimed at growth. They may not consist of refinancing or purely financial or property transactions.
This new EIB lending formula for SMEs is designed to be more flexible and more transparent, particularly in terms of the information provided to businesses. It will ensure that the final beneficiaries - Belgian SMEs - benefit from the advantages of EIB funding, mainly in the form of lower interest rates, and they will be explicitly informed of this.
The European Council last year asked the EIB to step up, modernise and diversify its lending to the SME sector in order to help small businesses weather the financial crisis. The Bank responded immediately with a broader programme that, it says in a press release, “will be further developed in the coming months”.
Since October 2008, the has made €6.7 billion available to SMEs in the EU countries through 66 operations under its “EIB Loans for SMEs” programme. (O.L./transl.rt)