The European Investment Bank (EIB) is granting a EUR 500 million loan to Banco Comercial Português (Millennium bcp) aimed at facilitating access to credit for SMEs and midcaps located in Portugal. The first tranche of EUR 250 million under the agreement has been signed today in Lisbon by EIB Vice-President Román Escolano and Millennium’s Vice-Chairman João Nuno Palma and General Manager Pedro Turras.
This new EIB loan will contribute to fostering economic growth and job creation in Portugal, as SMEs account for around 80% of total employment in the country. Under this agreement, Millennium bcp undertakes to match the EIB loan with at least the same amount for the benefit of SMEs and midcaps. Millennium bcp will therefore provide a total of EUR 1 billion worth of finance to SMEs and midcaps for their investment projects and will transfer the EIB funding advantage to the final beneficiaries in terms of both maturity and interest rates.
Under this agreement, SMEs will be able to receive financial support of up to EUR 12.5 million per project and midcaps up to EUR 25 million. In addition to small and medium-sized enterprises, public sector entities, such as municipalities, are also eligible for financing. This new loan continues the long-standing relationship between Millennium bcp and the EIB in support of small and medium-sized Portuguese companies. A similar agreement for EUR 500 million was signed in 2015 and has benefited around 1,000 Portuguese firms with activities mainly in the manufacturing and trade sectors.
At the signing ceremony, EIB Vice-President Román Escolano stressed “the positive impact of this agreement to foster economic growth in Portugal. SMEs are fundamental for employment creation in the country and financing them is one of the EIB’s investment priorities in Portugal. The loan signed today with Millennium bcp will allow small and medium-sized Portuguese companies operating in different sectors of industry and services to benefit from EIB funding with financial advantages and longer tenors”.
“Millennium bcp is very pleased to be signing this new facility with the EIB” said João Nuno Palma, Vice-Chairman of Millennium bcp. “Small and mid-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the Portuguese economy, providing many jobs all over the nation and contributing to innovation, internationalisation and the healthy long-term growth of our economy, and Millennium is increasingly focused on providing support to this segment. This new facility, deployed in partnership with the EIB, will give us additional flexibility in providing financing solutions to this key customer group.”
In 2016, the EIB Group provided EUR 33.6 billion for small businesses, reaching 300,000 companies throughout Europe. In Portugal, also last year, the EIB Group signed loan agreements totalling EUR 1.78 billion including EUR 1.19 billion that contributed to supporting more than 8,200 Portuguese SMEs.
