Mestre (Venice), 9 December 2021 – Banca Ifis strengthens its partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to enable Italian Small and Medium Enterprises to access green financing aimed at reducing their environmental impact. Thanks to the EIB financing, through two separate agreements of 50 million Euro each, Banca Ifis will make 100 million Euro available to SMEs for use in new sustainable transition projects.
The initiative reinforces the environmental commitment of Banca Ifis, the first Italian challenger bank to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance promoted by the United Nations and is part of the Bank’s ESG strategy in which sustainability, in all its dimensions, and business development are fully integrated and complementary.
The agreement, designed to finance projects with a positive impact in terms of ecology and environmental sustainability, is the third the Bank has concluded with the EIB in the last three years.
The new ceiling limit, adding the three loans made in the last three years, will bring the total disbursement to two hundred million Euro, further strengthening, also in perspective terms, this supply channel for Banca Ifis.
“Innovation and environmental sustainability are increasingly urgent priorities and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan also puts green issues in the foreground” says Frederik Geertman CEO of Banca Ifis. “As a bank specialised in services to SMEs and an active part in the environmental transition of its customers, we know that these investments are crucial for the country’s development and for the construction of a more sustainable future. This renewed partnership with the EIB therefore confirms our support for the backbone of Italy’s economic fabric and our commitment to an increasingly ESG-inclusive approach in this complex phase of recovery“.
“This agreement reflects the solid relationship between the EIB and Banca Ifis and the common goal of financing projects and businesses that contribute to the fight against climate change and to the development of sustainable projects. The economic recovery must be green and operations such as these, aimed at supporting green projects of small and medium-sized enterprises, will play a fundamental role in achieving climate neutrality” said Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice-President of the EIB.
The loan contracts are intended for SMEs with up to 249 employees. Banca Ifis will offer these companies loans and lease agreements with more advantageous interest rates and terms. In detail: a first credit facility worth 50 million Euro will be dedicated to the promotion of initiatives and projects aimed at fighting climate change, implemented by SMEs, which mainly concern the leasing of hybrid and “full electric” vehicles. A second credit facility worth 50 million Euro will be reserved 60% for leasing finance for investments in innovation or projects promoted by innovative companies under the Business Plan 4.0 and, for the remaining
40%, in continuation of previous operations with the EIB, for commercial lending to SMEs to support new investments or working capital.
For the conditions of the product, for any exclusions and for anything not expressly described in this press release, please refer to the Information Sheets published in the Transparency section of the website www.bancaifis.it.
Banca Ifis reserves the right to assess creditworthiness and other requirements necessary to grant loans.
