EIB and Santander sign agreements to support Spanish SMEs affected by COVID-19

With this goal in mind, the EU bank will provide the Spanish institution with €757 million to inject liquidity and finance the investments of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps at a, particularly difficult time.


EIB | Madrid | Updated: 13-07-2020 15:25 IST | Created: 13-07-2020 15:25 IST
EIB and Santander sign agreements to support Spanish SMEs affected by COVID-19
The EIB is providing these funds as part of the initiatives it launched as a rapid response to the crisis caused by the pandemic.  Image Credit: Flickr
  • Country:
  • Spain

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Santander have signed several agreements to support Spanish companies affected by the economic impact of the pandemic. With this goal in mind, the EU bank will provide the Spanish institution with €757 million to inject liquidity and finance the investments of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps at a, particularly difficult time. Under this agreement, it will be possible to offer them financing with favourable conditions in terms of both interest rates and maturity periods to drive the recovery of the Spanish industry.

The EIB is providing these funds as part of the initiatives it launched as a rapid response to the crisis caused by the pandemic. In concrete terms, in March the EU bank approved an initial response to mobilise up to €28 billion in financing by providing bridging loans and deferral periods and taking other actions to mitigate the shortage of working capital among SMEs and mid-caps, in cooperation with financial intermediaries in the EU Member States. The EIB Group has also taken extraordinary measures to speed up its processes and make its internal policies more flexible in order to – among other things – deploy its support as quickly as possible and finance expenses that it would not normally cover, such as the operating costs of European businesses.

Under the agreements signed with Santander, €100 million will be specifically targeted at financing the investment projects of SMEs operating in the agri-food sector and affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic, and a further €100 million will be used by Santander Consumer Finance to provide liquidity to Spanish SMEs affected by the COVID-19 crisis and that need to renew their transport fleets with new, more efficient and environmentally-friendly vehicles. This credit line will also make it possible to purchase agricultural equipment and buses.

EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, who is responsible for the EU bank's operations in Spain, said: “The EIB is proving to be a key component of the EU response to the COVID-19 crisis. We have adapted our activities to the new reality and have implemented a package of emergency measures aiming to support European industry and protect our SMEs. We are delighted to expand our cooperation with Santander to continue offering this support and granting financing to the businesses that need it most, helping them to remain operational and make the investments necessary to improve their competitiveness.”

Give Feedback