The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Banco Santander have signed two agreements to provide financing for Spanish SMEs and help develop investment in renewable energy.
Both agreements were signed under an Investment Plan for Europe guarantee, enabling the EIB, via Banco Santander, to provide Spanish SMEs and new projects with financing when they do not have easy access to credit.
The first of the agreements is a new EIB instrument to spread credit risk across both institutions.
The EIB's participation in a €500 million loan portfolio will help Banco Santander provide €1 billion in financing for SME projects.
This financing is designed to boost the competitiveness of Spanish businesses by driving economic growth and job creation.
The EIB and Banco Santander have also signed another risk-sharing agreement to help the Spanish bank finance new renewable energy projects with an investment cost of at least €400 million.
As part of this, the EIB will take on a €200 million participation in a Banco Santander loan portfolio covering renewable energy and infrastructure.
The Investment Plan for Europe focuses on removing obstacles to investment, mobilising funding of at least €315 billion by creating an investment friendly environment.
Since the global economic and financial crisis, the EU has been suffering from low levels of investment and the plan was created as a co-ordinated effort to encourage greater support for business growth.
