EIF and Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia sign agreement to invest €60 million in the green and digital transition and access to education in Sicily

• The EIF is providing three guarantees totalling €43.5 million to Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia, helping to support over €80 million of investment in the real economy.
• More than 700 small businesses, students and professionals will receive loans on favourable terms.
• This is the EIF’s first InvestEU agreement in Sicily.

Ragusa, 24 October 2024 – The European Investment Fund (EIF) – part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group – and Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia (formerly Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa) have signed two agreements covering €60 million in total financing. The agreement, announced at a press conference by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia CEO Saverio Continella, aims to back projects helping to promote environmental sustainability, innovation from small businesses, access to education for students and the training of company employees.

In concrete terms, the financial agreements are sub-divided into two uncapped EIF guarantees totalling €31.5 million, and a capped EIF guarantee of €12 million. These InvestEU-backed guarantees will focus on Sicilian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-caps, students, and professionals and will enable Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia to build a €60 million financing portfolio, helping to support over €80 million of investment in the real economy. EIF estimates indicate that around 370 SMEs, 250 students and 80 professionals will receive loans on favourable terms.

InvestEU-supported guarantees aim to foster the development of projects and initiatives that help promote three priority areas: climate action, innovation and digitalisation, access to education, and training of company employees.

These agreements further strengthen the relationship between the EIF and Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia (advised by Banca Finint), consolidating their commitment to promoting economic growth and jobs in Sicily. The InvestEU agreements announced today are another milestone following an operation signed in 2020 that has enabled over 540 Sicilian companies to access loans on favourable terms.

EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “This joint project shows the EIB’s close connections to Italian business. The agreements announced today are a vital step forward in making it easier for Sicilian SMEs to access finance, promoting not only the dual green and digital transition of businesses, but also education and training, which are key to strengthening European competitiveness.”

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia CEO Saverio Continella added: “Training, sustainability and innovation are the challenges we need to face to make the south of Italy competitive and strengthen our human and economic capital. A regional leader like our company has a responsibility to promote these processes on the ground using effective instruments like those provided by the European Investment Fund. The upcoming formation of Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia aims to deliver on a concrete commitment to bridging the Italian north-south divide, discouraging young talent from leaving Sicily and preventing many projects from being carried out elsewhere.”

Background information

The EIF in Italy: The EIF has signed transactions totalling over €17 billion since it began operating in Italy in 1996, helping to support more than €98 billion of investment in the real economy. EIF financing has reached over 400 000 Italian companies, safeguarding more than 2.3 million jobs across the country.

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. The EIF is also active in supporting climate and infrastructure fund investments with a strong focus on environmental sustainability. In this role, the EIF pursues the objectives of the European Union to support innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with vital long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for the European Union's strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects simpler, more efficient and more flexible. InvestEU has three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through financial partners that invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increasing their risk-bearing capacity and mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia: With over 20 000 shareholders, about 750 employees and 83 branches, Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia is Sicily's largest bank and a key player in regional economic and social growth, promoting the values of sustainability, integrity, realism and solidarity. At the heart of its identity lies a drive for innovation and efficiency to enable families, businesses and members to achieve their goals through a top-tier, people-centred service model based on sustainable value creation for the community. The people-centred nature of the bank fosters a welcoming approach based on listening to customers, protecting their savings, backing their growth projects and enhancing the region’s natural and cultural heritage via sustainable value creation. Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa – following the incorporation of Banca Popolare Sant’Angelo and its transformation into Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia – will have a widespread presence in Sicily with 106 branches, over 950 employees and over 28 000 shareholders.

Press contacts

EIF: Lorenzo Squintani | l.squintani@eib.org, tel.: +39 366 57 90 312

Website: www.eib.org/press – Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia

Press Office – Comin&Partners

Federico Fabretti: federico.fabretti@cominandpartners.com

Marta Leggio: marta.leggio@cominandpartners.com | +39 3392306733