- The agreement is the first signed by the EIB with an Italian bank entirely dedicated to promoting innovation initiatives under the “National 4.0 Transition Plan”.
- The agreement provides for the activation of business financing totalling 300 million Euro to support investments in innovation in support of the growth and development of Italian SMEs.
Milan, 11 March 2024 -The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banca Ifis have signed an agreement to provide 300 million Euro of new finance to support innovative 4.0 investments by SMEs and mid cap companies.
The agreement provides for an EIB loan worth a nominal amount of 150 million Euro in favour of Banca Ifis, intended mainly for leasing finance to promote innovative initiatives under the “National 4.0 Transition Plan”. Under the agreement signed, Banca Ifis will guarantee the disbursement of a further ceiling limit of the same amount, making a total of 300 million Euro available to companies.
This is the fifth agreement between Banca Ifis and the EIB and the first ever operation carried out by the European Union Bank with an Italian banking institution to fully support the innovative transition of small and medium-sized enterprises. With this operation, the EIB and Banca Ifis thus reach the figure of 700 million Euro in total investments activated over the last four years.
“Small and medium-sized enterprises play a key role in the economy. Besides creating jobs, these are the companies that tend to invest most in research and development and adopt emerging technologies”, says Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice President of the European Investment Bank. “Thanks to our consolidated experience with Banca Ifis, further strengthened with this operation, we aim to facilitate access to credit for SMEs with the objective of promoting innovation and stimulating the country’s competitiveness.”
“We are happy to continue our collaboration with the European Investment Bank by setting up a new ceiling entirely dedicated to supporting the innovative transition of Italian SMEs. The fact that an institution as prestigious and authoritative as the EIB has chosen us as a partner to set up the first project of this kind is an important recognition of our ability to intercept and meet the needs of companies that need to accelerate their path to innovation in order to remain competitive in international markets“, says Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio, Chairman of Banca Ifis.
In detail, the EIB will grant Banca Ifis a 150 million Euro 18-month ceiling through the subscription of two contracts worth 75 million Euro each. At the same time, Banca Ifis will make a sum of the same amount available to the Italian market for the same type of investments. The new credit facility, with more advantageous interest rates, can be accessed by both SMEs (companies with up to a maximum of 249 employees at consolidated level) and mid-caps (companies with up to a maximum of 2,999 employees at consolidated level), needing to finance investments in innovation or the purchase of innovative assets envisaged in the Government’s “National 4.0 Transition Plan”, also as part of financial leasing operations with a minimum term of 24 months.
General information
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financial institution of the European Union and is owned by its Member States. It provides long-term funding for sound investments in order to contribute to the EU’s strategic objectives. The Bank finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Over the past five years, the EIB Group has provided more than 58 billion Euro in loans for projects in Italy.
For the conditions of the product, for any exclusions and for anything not expressly described in this press release, please refer to the Information Sheet 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.
