Rabobank has shared the risk on a part of its Dutch SME portfolio with the European Investment Bank (“EIB”) and the European Investment Fund (“EIF”). This contributes to further optimisation of Rabobank’s balance sheet and stimulates lending to Dutch SMEs.
The transaction relates to more than 3,000 loans to Dutch SME’s originated by Rabobank with a total amount of circa EUR 2 billion and will be guaranteed by the EU budget under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which forms a central part of the “Investment Plan for Europe” of the Juncker Commission.
Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of Rabobank’s Managing Board: “This transaction underlines Rabobank’s ongoing commitment to its SME clients. As a result of the risk transfer, risk-weighted assets will decrease by EUR 1.2 billion. Rabobank will use the freed-up capital to grant new loans to Dutch SMEs. Just like EIF and EIB we intend to stimulate lending to SMEs. We will transfer the discount granted to us by EIF and EIB to our customers. EUR 768 million of newly originated SME loans will benefit from this.”
“The EIF is delighted to be signing this securitisation transaction with Rabobank to support SMEs and mid-caps in the Netherlands.”, said the Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund Pier Luigi Gilibert. "This new agreement will help to boost lending for small and medium-sized businesses across the country.”
Jyrki Katainen, European Commission Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, said: "Thanks to this transaction supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, Rabobank will be able to lend more money to local businesses in the Netherlands. Dutch SMEs will be the winners in this deal."
The risk transfer to EIF and EIB has no consequences for the client relationship: clients will keep their contacts with Rabobank, and loan contracts and conditions remain unchanged. Rabobank is a leading SME loan provider in the Netherlands with a total SME portfolio of approximately EUR 100 billion.