- Spain – the second biggest beneficiary in the EU
- Major increase in climate action financing, reaching 29% of total activities
- Spanish SMEs – the biggest beneficiaries of EIB Group funding
- Investment Plan for Europe: Spain – the country with the highest total approved financing volume
The European Investment Bank Group (EIB and EIF) presented the results of its 2019 activity in Spain today in Madrid. Financing provided by the group in 2019 grew to EUR 8.966bn, a 6% increase compared to the previous year. Spain was the second biggest beneficiary of EIB Group funds among EU countries, with financing going to 92 investment projects in both the public and private sectors. The EU bank offers flexible and attractive financing – in terms of both 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, who is responsible for the Bank's operations in the country, said: “2019 was a highly positive year for EIB Group activity in Spain. We financed projects with a clear impact on the Spanish economy that will improve people’s lives. Last year was marked by the big increase in our climate action financing, but we also maintained our strong support for innovation and SMEs. Indeed, small businesses continue to be the main target our activity in Spain, as the engine of growth and employment. We are very pleased with these results.” Also responsible for climate action at the EIB, Vice-President Navarro highlighted the following: “As the EU climate bank, and one of the key institutions in the European Green Deal, the EIB will continue supporting the climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives of Spanish project promoters.”
More financing for climate action in Spain
For the fourth consecutive year, the EU bank expanded its financing to promote projects contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation, reaching EUR 2.24bn in 2019. Spain was the second biggest beneficiary of funds for this objective. By providing these resources, the EIB is contributing to the development of cleaner transport, energy efficiency, renewable energies and the upgrading of electricity grids, among other projects.
Spain was once again the biggest beneficiary of EIB Group financing in support of SMEs, receiving EUR 4.755bn in 2019. These resources were used to provide finance on favourable terms to some 91 000 Spanish SMEs and mid-caps employing almost 625 000 people.
In 2019, fostering innovation was once again another of the EIB Group's key priorities in Spain, where it dedicated over EUR 1.3bn to this objective. This financing goes towards supporting investment in digitalisation and RDI by Spanish companies of all sizes, focusing on the implementation of more efficient and less polluting production processes. It also contributes to initiatives including pharmacological research and support for research teams working in public sector research centres.
Investment Plan for Europe: results in Spain in 2019
Between 2015, when the Investment Plan for Europe was launched, and December 2019, the EIB Group approved EUR 10.4bn worth of support for 142 Spanish projects. This financing is designed to mobilise around EUR 50bn worth of investment in Spain that will mainly help to promote climate action, innovation, sustainable production, the use of the latest digital technologies and the competitiveness of Spanish companies.
Overall EIB Group results
Total EIB Group financing last year amounted to EUR 72.22bn, including EUR 63.25bn in loans from the EIB and EUR 10.23bn from the European Investment Fund (EIF), the EIB subsidiary specialising in providing solutions to financial intermediaries to support SMEs and boost innovation in Europe.
Furthermore, since 2015 and up to December 2019, the EIB Group approved total financing of EUR 84.2bn under the Investment Plan for Europe in the EU as a whole, resources that are expected to mobilise EUR 458bn in additional investment.
