EIB and Ibercaja take new step to help Spanish SMEs access loans

EU bank has provided Ibercaja Banco with a EUR 150m loan to finance the investment projects and working capital needs of Spanish SMEs and mid-caps (with up to 3 000 employees).

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ibercaja have taken a new step forward today to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access loans on favorable terms. The EU bank has provided Ibercaja Banco with a EUR 150m loan to finance the investment projects and working capital needs of Spanish SMEs and mid-caps (with up to 3 000 employees). Under the agreement, Ibercaja will add a further EUR 150m to this credit line, meaning that the final financing volume made available to SMEs and mid-caps by the two institutions will total EUR 300m.

The agreement was signed today in Zaragoza by EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and Ibercaja CEO Víctor Iglesias. Most of this financing will go to supporting micro-enterprises with fewer than ten employees and SMEs operating in convergence regions with high unemployment. In addition, priority will be given to providing part of these funds to SMEs needing more support, such as recently created companies and those working in vulnerable sectors such as agriculture.

This is the EIB's fifth agreement with Ibercaja under the EU bank's dedicated credit line for SMEs and mid-caps. The previous agreement (signed in 2018) was also for EUR 150m and helped around 3 000 SMEs and 25 mid-caps. The partnerships implemented over the past four years have mobilized a total of EUR 1bn in financing for this segment. The average loan granted under this new credit line will be for an estimated EUR 50 000 and can finance both traditional loan operations and leasing.

At the signing ceremony today in Zaragoza, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro said: “Supporting SMEs and mid-caps remains one of the EIB's main priorities in Spain, in order to contribute to economic growth and job creation. This agreement with Ibercaja will enable the advantages of EU bank financing to reach those struggling the most to access credit. Thanks to this credit line, these small and medium-sized companies will have the resources they need to invest in innovation and improve their competitiveness.”

Ibercaja CEO Víctor Iglesias expressed his satisfaction with the Ibercaja-EIB partnership to date: “This new agreement will help us to expand our support for small and medium-sized companies, and to meet the growth objectives for the segment set in the 2018-2020 strategic plan. Over the first half of 2019, loans provided by the bank to businesses accounted for 64% of the total financing granted. The average operation size stood at EUR 86 000, reflecting our focus on small and medium-sized companies.”

The credit line created under this agreement will enable businesses receiving these loans to benefit from more favorable conditions – in terms of both interest rates and maturity periods – for financing their investments in the different sectors of the economy. In concrete terms, this EIB-Ibercaja credit line will make it possible to finance up to EUR 12.5m for projects with an investment cost that does not exceed EUR 25m.

EIB Group and Ibercaja support for SMEs

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 objectives.

In 2018, the European Investment Bank Group (which also includes SME financing specialist subsidiary the European Investment Fund – EIF) provided total financing of EUR 8.5bn in Spain. Support for small and medium-sized companies was once again among the EIB Group's main priorities in the country, accounting for EUR 4.8bn in financing. Spain received more support for financing SMEs than any other EU country.

Ibercaja is one of the largest banking groups in Spain, with 2.8 million customers across the country, over 1 100 branches, 5 061 employees and a business volume of EUR 89bn. It also has its own financial group and is a dedicated leader in customer service, with professionalism and proximity together with local social commitment making it stand out from the crowd.

Small and medium-sized companies are a key segment for the bank, whose business model is tailored to meet their needs. In 2018, Ibercaja finalized EUR 3.943bn of new loans for this segment.