Triodos Bank secures €200m in EIF guarantees for SME loans
Triodos Bank has secured €200m (£171m) in guarantees from the European Investment Fund to provide loans to small and medium-sized businesses in four countries.
The three new guarantee agreements signed between the two will provide loans to companies in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany, with reduced interest rates and lower collateral requirements.
It is expected that the funding will go to some 600 businesses that focus on sustainability, social entrepreneurship and the cultural and creative sectors.
This is the fourth collaboration between Triodos Bank and the EIF, signed as part of the European Commission’s InvestEU programme.
Read more: European Investment Fund: Backing sustainable development
Thomas Van Craen, director of Triodos Bank Belgium said the funding is for projects for which it is normally difficult to obtain traditional bank financing.
“Our relationship with Triodos Bank is very successful, having provided hundreds of millions of euros on favourable terms to SMEs operating in sectors that are underserved by traditional bank financing,” said Marjut Falkstedt, chief executive of the EIF.
“Triodos Bank has played an important role in supporting the creative and cultural sectors as well as social enterprises, which are at the heart of European values. We are now building on this experience to also support sustainability within SMEs, which will be a key factor in Europe’s independence and competitiveness in the future.”
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Triodos Bank and the EIF first partnered in 2018 and has since facilitated the provision of more than €600m to European SMEs. But this is the first time the EIF has supported the bank in the area of sustainability, which is expected to release up to €71m to SMEs for their green investments. Meanwhile, the guarantee for the cultural and creative sector is expected to provide €43m in new loans to businesses.
“Triodos Bank has a long history of financing social entrepreneurship. Previous agreements with the EIF have already demonstrated that public-private partnerships can fuel much-needed transitions to a better, more sustainable world. I am confident that this new agreement will have the same positive impact,” commented Jacco Minnaar, chief commercial officer at Triodos Bank.
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