Spain leads EIB Group financing for 2018

• Spain received almost EUR 8.5bn from the EIB Group in 2018
• Innovative project development and climate action financing increased
• Investment Plan for Europe: Spain received the third highest amount of financing under this initiative

The European Investment Bank Group(EIB and EIF) presented the results of its activity in Spain in 2018 today in Madrid. The volume of EIB Group financing in Spain reached EUR 8.478bn last year, more than any other country, financing 89 investment projects in both the public and private sectors. These funds make it possible to offer flexible financing with clear advantages, both in terms of maturities and interest rates, for investments with a real impact on the economy.

At the press conference today in Madrid, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro said: “2018 was yet another highly positive year for EIB Group activity in Spain. The almost EUR 8.5bn provided by the EU bank is helping to finance important projects for the Spanish economy that promote its competitiveness and generate sustainable growth. Spain was the country that benefited most from EIB Group financing over the past year, and we are particularly satisfied that a large part of this effort is serving to foster investment in innovation and projects contributing to climate action, two of the EIB's main priorities. As in previous years, we once again provided considerable support to SMEs, key drivers of employment in Spain.” The EIB Vice-President also referred to the Investment Plan for Europe, stressing that “in 2018, Spain continued to be one of the biggest recipients of financing under this initiative.”

Supporting innovation and climate action

EIB Group financing for research, development and innovation (RDI) promotion in Spain increased for the second consecutive year in 2018, amounting to EUR 2.439bn. This makes Spain the second biggest beneficiary of financing for this objective. Part of these funds will serve to support the Spanish science sector via the EUR 1.2bn provided by the EIB under the EU's InnovFin programme, financing the activities of public sector research centres and institutions. This is the largest loan the EIB has granted under InnovFin. The EIB's support for climate action in Spain also continued to grow. In 2018, this financing represented 17% of the Bank's activity in the country, contributing to the development of projects promoting the use of renewable energies and the implementation of more energy-efficient production processes.

The EIB Group maintained its strong support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2018. EUR 4.805bn went to providing credit on favourable terms to 82 670 Spanish SMEs and mid-caps employing 776 000 people.

Investment Plan for Europe: results in Spain

Since the Investment Plan for Europe was launched in 2015 and up to December 2018, the EIB Group approved financing for 110 projects in Spain totalling over EUR 8.15bn, which is hoped to mobilise nearly EUR 46.5bn worth of investment. This funding contributes to supporting major projects fostering innovation, sustainable production, the introduction of the latest digital technologies and the competitiveness of our companies, and provides investment in economic sectors that have most difficulties obtaining finance on flexible terms. The bulk of this investment is directed towards RDI, support for new more environmentally friendly production methods, and the transport sector.

In concrete terms, EIB Group financing under the Juncker Plan is supporting projects including the innovation plans of automotive industry companies such as Cie Automotive, Cikautxo and Grupo Antolin. This financing is also helping to drive scientific research in Spain, supporting, for example, Grifols’ development of new treatments for Alzheimer's patients. Other projects financed under the Investment Plan for Europe in Spain focus on combating climate change, financing projects including the construction of one of the country's largest solar power plants in Cáceres and the Goya project to develop nine wind farms in Aragón. The EIB also signed a loan with ILUNION in 2018, its first with a social economy company. This financing is helping to create jobs for people with disabilities.

Overall EIB Group results

Total EIB Group financing last year amounted to EUR 64.19bn, EUR 55.63bn of which corresponded to EIB loans and EUR 10.06bn to the activity of the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIB Group subsidiary specialising in providing risk financing solutions to financial intermediaries to support SMEs and boost innovation in Europe.

Furthermore, since 2015 and up to December 2018, the EIB Group approved total financing of EUR 70.4bn under the Investment Plan for Europe in the EU as a whole, making it possible to mobilise an estimated EUR 375.5bn in additional investment.

Country sheet [ES]