The European Investment Bank Group and BBVA have agreed a deal expected to make about €1.3 billion available for lending to small and medium-sized businesses and mid-sized companies in Spain, including more than €200 million for green or sustainability-related projects.
The EIB Group — which includes the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund — is investing €259 million through two “synthetic securitisation” transactions arranged by BBVA, the EIB announced on Wednesday.
Synthetic securitisation is a way for banks to share some of the risk on a portfolio of loans, which can free up capital for new lending.
The funding is intended to support companies’ liquidity and investment needs, including working capital and planned investments.
Part of the financing is earmarked for mid-cap companies, which are generally larger than SMEs but smaller than large corporations.
The programme will focus primarily on Spanish SMEs and entrepreneurs, with particular attention to “cohesion regions” — EU-designated areas where income per person is below the EU average.
Green projects and cohesion regions
More than €200 million of the financing is expected to be used for investments linked to green or sustainability projects, the EIB Group said.
The agreements are part of the EIB Group’s support for financial instruments such as securitisation and its work linked to the EU Savings and Investment Union.
