The EIB Group and Banco Santander have agreed a deal designed to unlock €1.43 billion in new lending for small and medium-sized businesses and mid-sized companies in Spain.
The EIB Group — made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) — is investing €876 million in a new Santander securitisation, the EIB announced on Tuesday.
More than €162 million of the €1.43 billion is earmarked for projects supporting the green transition, while €108 million is set aside for women entrepreneurs and firms that are owned or mainly managed by women.
The EIB Group said the funding is intended to support smaller firms’ working-capital and liquidity needs.
The agreement was signed in Madrid by Marco Marrone, chief investment officer of the EIF, Joan Basora, head of the Multinational Financial Institutions Division at the EIB, and Catalina Mejía García, chief financial officer of Banco Santander Spain.
How the financing is structured
Under the transaction, the EIB will invest about €476 million and the EIF €400 million, alongside other private investors, the EIB Group said.
The deal is structured as a securitisation — a financing method where bundles of loans are turned into tradable securities — and the EIB Group said this is the first such transaction in Spain where a guarantee is embedded directly in the securitisation notes.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises are a vital driver of growth, innovation and employment in Europe,” Marco Marrone stated.
Joan Basora said the transaction would continue to channel financing to Spanish small and medium-sized businesses and mid-caps.
Catalina Mejía noted that the partnership would help broaden access to finance for Spanish SMEs and mid-caps.
