Almost €600 million in new financing will be provided to 650,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Italy thanks to a new agreement between the EIB Group — comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Investment Fund (EIF) — and Deutsche Bank.
“The synthetic securitisation operation involves a portfolio of consumer car loans originated by Deutsche Bank SpA for which the EIF has provided a guarantee (counter-guaranteed by the EIB) on mezzanine tranches for a total of €150 million,” said the EIB.
“This is the EIB Group’s second synthetic securitisation with Deutsche Bank (the first on a portfolio of consumer car loans in Italy) and, like the first, falls under the simple, transparent, and standardised (STS) securitisation framework approved by the European Parliament.
“In concrete terms, the capital freed up by the EIF guarantee will be reused to provide over €594 million in new financing, around €149 million (25% of the new financing) of which will go to innovative companies to foster economic growth and up to €178 million (30%) to projects in social cohesion regions.”
EIB Vice-President and EIF Chair Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “The EIB Group’s innovative financial products will provide Italian companies with access to new sources of financing, overcoming the traditional limitations of bank loans and thereby fostering economic growth, business diversification, and increased employment.”
Deutsche Bank Chief Country Officer Italy and CEO Western Europe Roberto Parazzini added: “This major agreement with the EIB Group will enable us to significantly increase resources to support the growth and development plans of Italian SMEs and mid-caps, which have always been among our target clients.
“We provide them with access to our global network and an integrated service platform covering the needs of retail clients, businesses and holding companies.”
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its member states.
The EIB finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the EIB Group provided €45 billion in financing for projects in Italy.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance and venture capital.