EIB, 650 million to Bper to support green transition of Italian companies

Brussels – Support to the economic growth and ecological transition of Italian companies, with a focus on projects based in southern Italy and for climate transition: These are the main objectives of the agreements signed today (Feb. 12), worth €650 million, between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the BPER Banca Group. Agreements that will activate investments in the economy worth more than €1.7 billion, a third of which will be in the southern regions.

In detail, the EIB will provide a direct loan to the BPER Banca Group (BPER Banca and Banco di Sardegna) up to EUR 500 million over the next three years, with the first tranche of €200 million signed today and a €150 million guarantee agreement. The latter represents the first agreement signed in Italy as a direct EIB guarantee for new loans granted to mid-cap companies. The warranty, called Linked Risk Sharing, will cover up to 50 per cent of the new lending, i.e., financing for investment and working capital support of Italian mid-cap companies, the ones employing 250 to 3,000 people. BPER will create a portfolio of new loans totalling up to €300 million, thereby increasing its lending capacity and offering businesses access to financing on advantageous terms through reduced interest rates, longer maturities, and lower collateral requirements.

On the other hand, the €200 million loan represents the first tranche of a larger credit limit of up to €500 million, which aims to finance the investment and working capital needs of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The EIB resources will be channelled to businesses through the networks and branches of BPER Banca and Banco di Sardegna, and Sardaleasing, a product factory of the BPER Group. The operation will help mobilize investments of more than €1.4 billion in the real economy, about 30 per cent of which will be dedicated to projects that contribute to environmental objectives and about 40 per cent to projects developed in southern regions.

“The agreements signed today help to strengthen the relationship with BPER further and demonstrate the EIB’s proximity to Italian small and medium-sized enterprises, which we support each year with an average of about 3 billion euros,” commented Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President, stressing that “collaboration with the banking system is key to reaching the largest number of businesses in the territory and promoting the EIB’s two major cross-cutting objectives, namely climate action and economic cohesion.”