The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Banco BPM Group have signed their first cooperation agreement for financing SMEs and midcaps.
With this agreement, the EIB is making available EUR 600 million which the Banco BPM Group, created last January following the merger of Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano, will onlend via four global loans: two for SMEs (EUR 400 million in total) and two for midcaps (EUR 200 million), to be deployed across the Group's entire network.
The loans will finance businesses operating in a variety of sectors – industry, services, tourism and agriculture – and they will be used to implement productive investment programmes and meet working capital requirements. The maximum amount per financing operation for SMEs is EUR 12.5 million, to be provided in six-monthly instalments over 10 years, and the maximum amount for midcaps is EUR 25 million.
“From the outset, Banco BPM has set the benchmark for manufacturing and services companies in our country. The agreement with the EIB”, said Maurizio Faroni, General Manager of Banco BPM, “provides further evidence of the bank’s desire to support the country's entrepreneurs and of its awareness that these kinds of operations add considerable value to the country’s entire economy, not just for promoting investment but also in terms of social impact.”
“It gives the EIB great pleasure to stand alongside one of Italy’s biggest financial institutions in supporting projects by SMEs and midcaps via long-term loans on favourable terms. Finance will be provided to small and medium-scale schemes contributing to growth, jobs, innovation and environmental protection, so benefiting from Banco BPM's extensive presence on the ground”, stated Miguel Morgado, EIB Director for Italy.