EIF and ICF mobilise €57 million in financing for sustainable projects

• The European Investment Fund and the Catalan Finance Institute have signed a guarantee agreement to finance sustainability projects undertaken by SMEs and mid-caps.
• The agreement is backed by the InvestEU programme.

Barcelona, 19 December 2024: The European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF) have signed a limited portfolio guarantee agreement worth €40 million with the support of the InvestEU programme. The agreement will enable ICF to mobilise up to €57 million to support sustainability projects undertaken by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Catalonia.

This guarantee is backed by the InvestEU portfolio guarantee product for sustainability and climate change mitigation. The InvestEU programme aims to mobilise more than €372 billion of additional investment between 2021-2027 to boost EU policy priorities.

The new agreement with the EIF will enable ICF to improve the conditions of ICF EcoVerda loans and to provide finance to more businesses and organisations that want to scale up climate investment and projects in Catalonia. This may include operations to reduce carbon footprint and non-renewable energy consumption, to improve energy efficiency and green energy generation capacity, and to promote electric vehicles, among other aims.

This agreement is a further example of cooperation between the EIF and ICF, after both parties signed their first guarantee agreement in February 2024. The first agreement was signed to mobilise up to €64 million to support companies and organisations involved in social, cultural and creative projects in Catalonia, and was also backed by the InvestEU programme.

Background information

About the European Investment Fund

The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

About InvestEU

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investment for EU policy 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 Member States, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is channelled through financial partners who will 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, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

About the Catalan Finance Institute

ICF is the public financial institution of the regional government of Catalonia, and its main goal is to boost the growth of companies and other organisations. It finances relevant and transformational projects through loans and capital, with a special emphasis on the green transition, reindustrialisation and social housing. ICF often supplements commercial bank lending, offering long repayment terms to facilitate debt repayment. Since 2014, it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which brings together many of the public banks and financial institutions operating in Europe.

About ICF EcoVerda loans

Since 2018, ICF has provided financing for 84 businesses, organisations, residents’ associations and energy communities. It has done so by granting €167.6 million in ICF EcoVerda loans to support projects that benefit the environment.

Press contacts: 

EIF

Maite Cordero | m.corderomunoz@eib.org | Tel.: +34 606 66 82 62

Website: www.eif.org | Press Office: +352 4379 21000 | press@eib.org

X: @eif_eu

ICF

Natalia Touzón, Head of Communications: ntouzon@icf.cat | +34 687 469 946

Javier Castillo, Communications Technician: jcastilloc@icf.cat | +34 672 635 066

X: https://twitter.com/icfcat

Website: https://www.icf.cat/