EIB and Banca Etica together for the social economy and Italian and Spanish SMEs, with a €164 million guarantee

Brussels – Investment support for social enterprises and microenterprises in Italy and Spain is the goal of the new agreement between the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB (European Investment Bank) Group, and Italy’s Banca Etica.

The €164 million EIF guarantee to Banca Etica will help support investments in the real economy of more than 200 million, with the support of the InvestEU program, which deals with investments in the European Union. Any losses, up to 18 million, will be covered by the same guarantee.

“This agreement further consolidates the collaboration between the EIB Group and Banca Etica, with a common vision: supporting an economy that puts people and social inclusion at the centre,” says Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice President.

“We want to create the conditions so that every entrepreneur, regardless of their starting resources, can access financing on favourable terms in order to invest in their future. Our goal is to promote an ecosystem that is more equitable, fair, and accessible to all.”

More than a thousand enterprises, according to EIF estimates, could be beneficiaries of credits from this agreement, mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-cap companies (MCCs), micro-enterprises and social enterprises. The focus is on projects that promote environmental sustainability, as well as cultural, creative, and training initiatives.

Banca Etica confirms its commitment to ethical finance, in the words of Chairwoman Anna Fasano: “Through these agreements, Banca Etica strengthens the synergy with the EIF and the EIB, which, for several years, have recognized our specific know-how in providing credit to the social economy. Banca Etica will, therefore, be able to provide additional resources on concessional terms to virtuous enterprises capable of generating a strong positive impact for the community.”

Cooperation between the EIB and Banca Etica has already had an antecedent in July, with a €60 million agreement that covered the promotion of labour integration and better services for refugees, easier access to credit for women-led businesses, and support for projects implemented in cohesion regions.