- Under the PF4EE[1] instrument, the European Union is providing Société Générale Group subsidiary Franfinance with a credit risk guarantee to support the energy efficiency investment of companies and local or regional authorities.
- To date, Franfinance is one of the only financial intermediaries to benefit from this scheme in France.
- The project is expected to help hundreds of French companies, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises.
A key target of France’s energy transition is to cut energy use to 50% of its 2012 figure by 2050. To support this goal, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has chosen Franfinance to enable its clients to benefit from the PF4EE programme. Franfinance is a major financer of companies in the industrial equipment, transport, handling and other high-tech sectors. It also has extensive experience regarding the regulatory constraints applied to equipment eligible for energy saving certificates.
The EIB and Franfinance have therefore signed an agreement to speed up the financing of energy efficiency projects.[2] This agreement aims to promote investment aligned with EU environmental targets and contribute to energy supply security and diversification in EU Member States, as well as CO2 emissions reduction.
An EIB guarantee will provide Franfinance with another tool to offer its clients attractive financial terms and a long maturity of up to 15 years, in line with the nature and duration of the investment concerned.
“Energy efficiency has become vital and a key element of firms’ competitiveness, as illustrated by our latest survey on investment in Europe,” stressed EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle. “As the EU climate bank financing the energy transition in Europe, we are happy to help facilitate SMEs’ investments in energy efficiency via this joint operation with Franfinance.”
Franfinance Deputy CEO Olivier Delaporte said: “To successfully complete their energy transition while staying resilient, French companies need to review how they produce and consume energy. Our aim is to help them implement their projects and make it easier for them to access finance. This guarantee will expand our investment capacity, particularly with SMEs. We are proud to be one of the only financial intermediaries in France to benefit from this scheme.”
Background information
About Franfinance
Société Générale Group subsidiary Franfinance provides financing to help over 1.5 million retail customers and 250 000 corporates to make their projects a reality. It plays a vital role in supporting the real economy by offering innovative consumer credit and leasing solutions (leasing and rental) to households and companies. These solutions — available directly from Franfinance or via its trading partners — are also provided to other Société Générale Group companies and other financial institutions. Committed and responsible, Franfinance promotes the energy transition by focusing on housing development and company equipment. In 2022, it had 1 100 employees based exclusively in France, €8.9 billion in retail assets under management and €9.3 billion in corporate assets under management.
About the European Investment Bank
As the EU climate bank, it aims to encourage the emergence and deployment of new technologies to meet ongoing challenges such as the energy transition to a new low-carbon growth model. In 2022, the EIB devoted more than two-thirds of its €8.4 billion in investment in France to climate-related projects (amounting to €5.9 billion), and almost a third (€2.7 billion) to innovation.
[1] PF4EE — Private Finance For Energy Efficiency is a financial instrument managed by the EIB with the goal of improving and facilitating access to energy efficiency investment financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
[2] This scheme is aimed at all French companies and local or regional authorities. They can benefit from it via their Franfinance-partner suppliers, subject to eligibility and financing acceptance by Franfinance. Equipment enabling reductions in the energy use of tertiary and industrial buildings — such as more energy-efficient heating and cooling installations — will be among that eligible for financing. New renewable energy generation equipment such as photovoltaic power plants and charging points for electric mobility are also eligible.
