- The EIB Group has participated in a synthetic securitisation transaction by Santander providing a €163 million unfunded guarantee to boost green lending in the housing market.
- The operation will support energy efficiency and climate action projects in the residential property market in Spain.
The EIB Group — made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) — have signed with Santander a new synthetic securitisation transaction with the final objective of supporting the financing of energy efficiency investments in Spain, including the construction of new nearly-zero-emissions buildings and the renovation of existing residential properties in line with sustainable standards.
The transaction will facilitate new green and sustainable mortgages enabling individuals to invest in building renovations or new construction with high energy-efficiency standards, in compliance with the eligibility conditions defined by the EIB.
The individual projects benefiting from this new financing, may reach an investment of up to €1.1 million, with a maximum amount of funding of up to 100%, and a minimum term of two years. The projects financed by this operation will contribute to the improvement of energy efficiency, reduction of CO2 emissions, and climate change mitigation.
“We are delighted to join forces with Santander in this new securitisation operation to support the green transition in the Spanish residential housing market. With this signature, the EIB Group will continue to support the expansion of green mortgages in the country. Accelerating the financing of more sustainable housing solutions is an important component of the EIB’s commitment to climate action and environmental sustainability in Spain,” said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix.
“With this transaction, together with our partners at Banco Santander, we are taking another decisive step to make more financing available for energy efficiency projects. The green transition concerns us all, and reducing our energy footprint is paramount if we are to ensure a sustainable future.” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt.
"We are very pleased with our collaboration with the EIB over the years. The agreement will enable us to boost green lending for investment in housing refurbishment and rehabilitation projects. Having a more efficient and sustainable housing stock is an example of how we can all contribute to making the energy transition possible and joining forces with the EIB helps us to ease the way for our clients,” said Chief Financial Officer of Santander Spain, Catalina García Mejía.
The EIB’s commitment under the transaction totals around €118 million, alongside €45 million committed by the EIF. The EIB Group’s total investment is executed in a single securitisation transaction with an optimal structure designed for Santander to achieve capital relief on a portfolio of residential mortgages. Under the transaction, the EIB Group will provide a €163 million unfunded guarantee in a mezzanine tranche with the goal of enabling Santander to finance new energy efficiency investments for an amount equal to 1.33 times the size of the EIB Group guarantee.
Background information
About the EIF
The central mission of the European Investment Fund (EIF) is to support Europe's small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it helps achieve key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.
About Santander
Banco Santander is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful presence in ten core markets in the Europe, North America and South America regions, and is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalisation. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising €220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. At the closing of the third quarter in 2023, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total funds, 166 million customers, 8,700 branches and 212,000 employees.