The EIB is granting two credit lines totalling €600 million that will enable Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale to lend over €1.2 billion to French SMEs and mid-caps. It is the first French bank to benefit from the EIB’s post-COVID-19 programme, reaffirming its position as a key player in the financing of SMEs and mid-caps.
The operation is part of the emergency post-COVID-19 programme to support European companies that have been hit by the crisis. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale have just signed a major financial partnership agreement, under which the EIB is granting two credit lines totalling €600 million to Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale.
This is split into two tranches:
- the first €350 million has been earmarked to respond to the economic emergency resulting from the COVID-19 crisis;
- the remaining €250 million is a pre-existing credit line that has been adapted to respond to the emergency via subsidised short, medium and long-term financing.
In total, the €600 million will enable Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale to lend over €1.2 billion to SMEs and mid-caps that have been hit by the health crisis via the Crédit Mutuel et CIC network and the Banque Européenne du Crédit Mutuel (BECM).
This operation is part of the EU PL RESPONSE TO COVID19 CRISIS FOR SME&MIDCAPS programme announced in April 2020, which builds on the initial emergency support plan for European SMEs and mid-caps. Under this programme, the EIB, thanks to its AAA rating, provides financing to commercial banks on favourable terms to enable them to continue supporting and lending to businesses. Banks that receive credit lines from the EIB undertake to pass these attractive terms on to their customers. This EU programme complements the national programmes set up to guarantee bank loans to SMEs.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, said: “Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is a longstanding partner of the EIB and we are therefore particularly pleased that it will be the first French bank to benefit from our emergency post-COVID-19 support programme. Since the start of the crisis, the EU has been fully mobilised in helping European companies, in particular SMEs, and supporting investments that are essential to remaining competitive.”
According to Nicolas Théry, President of Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale: “Since the outbreak of the health crisis, Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale has made every effort to provide targeted and effective support to its business customers, for example by deferring €2.6 billion in loan maturities and granting €17.2 billion in credit facilities (state-guaranteed loans) to more than 107 000 companies. Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale is a socially responsible company – this partnership with the EIB will help it contribute to regional development by financing business investment projects and regional economic recovery.”