- Two agreements have been signed by the EIB and BPER to facilitate access to credit for small businesses and mid-caps on favourable terms, with the aim of stimulating economic cohesion and the ecological transition.
- In concrete terms, the EIB will provide direct financing of up to €500 million to the BPER Group, including the first tranche of €200 million signed today and a guarantee of €150 million.
Supporting the economic growth and ecological transition of Italian companies, with particular attention to projects located in southern Italy and the climate transition, are among the key objectives of the agreements totalling €650 million signed today in Milan by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Chair of BPER Banca Flavia Mazzarella. Thanks to this EIB financial operation, it is estimated that more than €1.7 billion will be invested in the economy, of which a third in the regions of southern Italy.
In concrete terms, the EIB will provide direct financing of up to €500 million to the BPER Banca Group (BPER Banca and Banco di Sardegna), including the first tranche of €200 million signed today and a guarantee of €150 million. The latter is the first EIB agreement signed in Italy in the form of a direct loan-by-loan guarantee on new finance granted to mid-caps. The Linked Risk Sharing guarantee will cover up to 50% of the new loan, designed to finance investments and support the working capital of Italian mid-caps (companies with between 250 and 3 000 employees). BPER will create a portfolio of new loans for a total amount of up to €300 million, thereby increasing its lending capacity and offering companies access to financing on favourable terms in the form of reduced interest rates, longer maturities and lower collateral requirements.
This is the second time that the EIB has chosen BPER as a pilot bank for Italy for its guarantee instruments: Linked Risk Sharing follows Life 4 Energy, a financing product for energy efficiency that BPER exclusively managed from 2017 to 2023.
The €200 million loan is the first tranche of a larger credit limit, up to €500 million, which aims to finance the investment and working capital needs of Italian small and medium businesses (SMEs). EIB funds will be channelled to companies through the networks and branches of BPER Banca and Banco di Sardegna, and Sardaleasing, the BPER Group’s product factory. The operation will help mobilise investments of more than €1.4 billion in the real economy, of which around 30% will be dedicated to projects contributing to environmental objectives, and around 40% to projects developed in the regions of southern Italy.
“The agreements signed today help to further strengthen the relationship with BPER and show that the EIB is in touch with Italian small and medium businesses, which we are supporting to the tune of around €3 billion. This collaboration with the banking system is key to reaching as many companies as possible in Italy and fostering two of the EIB’s major cross-cutting objectives, namely climate action and social cohesion,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.
“The signing of these agreements constitutes a major step forward in our long-standing partnership with the EIB. We are honoured to have been selected as an innovative and responsive intermediary, in charge of managing exclusive products that aim to support businesses during a critical period of economic and environmental transition. The trust placed in BPER by the EIB, including through the first agreement signed in Italy in the form of a direct guarantee, reinforces our commitment to support small businesses and mid-caps, so playing a key role in bolstering competitiveness and fostering sustainable development. We wish to further strengthen our key role in promoting economic cohesion and as an important partner and advisor of businesses: we are committed to providing financial solutions tailored to the needs of companies keen to develop in a fast-moving economic environment,” said Chair of BPER Banca Flavia Mazzarella.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by the EU Member States. It provides long-term financing for sound investments that contribute to EU policy. The Bank finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the EIB Group provided €45 billion in financing for projects in Italy.
BPER Banca is the parent company of the BPER Banca Group, which comprises three banks (BPER Banca, Banco di Sardegna and Banca Cesare Ponti) and has some 1 650 branches across all Italian regions, with over 20 000 employees and more than 5 million customers.
BPER is Italy’s third-biggest listed banking group in terms of total deposits and number of branches. In addition to its banks, the BPER Group includes a number of product factories and ancillary services undertakings. The bank’s distribution structure on the Italian mainland currently comprises ten regional divisions.
BPER operates through investee companies and joint ventures in all major market segments (corporate and investment banking, private and wealth management, bancassurance, leasing, factoring and consumer credit) and, thanks to a solid network of participations and partnerships, is able to offer qualified assistance to its clients in all key international markets.
The bank supports people, businesses and communities, backing entrepreneurial projects and fostering the growth of families and regions. It promotes innovative solutions integrated with ESG criteria to combine business growth and financial solidity with social and environmental sustainability.