EIB and Banca March provide a further EUR 400 million for financing SMEs and midcaps

PRESS RELEASE

BEI/14/148

Luxembourg, 24 June 2014

EIB and Banca March provide a further EUR 400 million for financing SMEs and midcaps

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 200 million loan to Banca March for financing the investment projects of SMEs and midcaps, mainly in the industrial and service sectors. A total of EUR 400 million will be pumped into such firms under this agreement as Banca March has undertaken to match the EIB loan with the same amount.

The EIB loan will provide these companies with long-term finance for their investment projects and credit lines on favourable terms to fund their working capital requirements of more than two years. Around 70% of the funds provided by the EIB will be earmarked for the investment projects of SMEs (firms with up to 250 employees), and the rest, up to 30%, for those of midcaps (firms with up to 3 000 employees).

Supporting SMEs, the key drivers of job creation and economic recovery, is the EIB’s top investment priority. Projects eligible for financing will mainly be located in Spain. It is envisaged that around 30% of the funds will go to projects in convergence regions.

In 2013, the EIB Group (including the European Investment Fund) supported SMEs and midcaps to the tune of EUR 21 900 million (EUR 18 500 million of which came from the EIB), benefiting some 230 000 firms throughout Europe. In Spain, the EIB provided EUR 4 836 million worth of new credit lines for financing the investment projects of more than 47 000 such firms.

This agreement brings total EIB lending to Banca March for financing SMEs and midcaps to EUR 500 million. Banca March was granted a first EIB credit line of EUR 100 million in 2012 and second of EUR 200 million in 2013, both on similar terms to today’s loan. These two lines have been fully used up, financing more than 300 projects carried out by Spanish firms.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

Banca March is the family-owned lead bank of one of Spain’s principal financial groups with a business model largely focused on private, asset and corporate banking, insurance and fund management. The two stress tests carried out by the European Banking Authority showed Banca March to be the most solvent bank in Europe, with one of the lowest default ratios and most solid levels of reserves in the banking system.

Press contacts

EIB: Matilde del Valle, +352 4379 83154, delvalle@eib.org

Website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 - press@eib.org

Banca March: Luis F. Fidalgo, Lfidalgo@bancamarch.es, +34914363726