European Investment Fund signs €40 million with BOŚ Bank, the first entirely sustainable InvestEU portfolio guarantee with a commercial bank in Poland

• EIF support will help deliver up to €60 million in new debt financing to micro, small and medium companies, as well as mid-caps.
• Guarantee is dedicated in full to supporting firms on path to greater sustainability.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and BOŚ Bank, a Polish commercial bank focused on green financing, signed a portfolio guarantee worth up to €40 million. It will support up to €60 million in new debt financing for Polish micro, small and medium companies, as well as mid-caps. This marks the EIF’s first fully sustainable guarantee granted to a commercial bank in Poland under the InvestEU programme.

The guarantee reduces BOŚ Bank’s lending risk and allows it to offer SMEs increased financing on competitive terms. This enhances small companies’ access to finance and helps stimulate the economy. Additionally, the BOŚ Bank guarantee is entirely dedicated to financing investments that put firms on a more sustainable footing. 

“By supporting sustainable development of small and medium companies, EIF’s guarantee for BOŚ Bank helps deliver on a key strategic goal of the entire European Investment Bank Group. It will inject some 60 million euros to small companies’ green transition in Poland. It’s the first InvestEU guarantee earmarked entirely for SME sustainable development that the EIF has signed with a commercial bank in Poland. I am pleased that it meets market demand that has so far not been addressed enough by financial institutions,” said EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska.

CEO Bartosz Kublik said the guarantee was in sync with BOŚ Bank’s strategy of expanding financing for investment in support of green transition.

“BOŚ Bank keeps constantly searching for instruments to offer more favourable and attractive financing conditions to our clients for climate-friendly investment. This guarantee will help secure loans for renewable energy sources, including photovoltaic farms, that will produce energy for sale,” Kublik added.

Roger Havenith, EIF deputy CEO, said InvestEU portfolio guarantees help companies shift to greater sustainability, adding: ”We welcome the strong overall market demand for this product in Poland and hope to see further transactions in support of the EU green transition in due course.”

The transaction was mediated by the National Contact Point for Financial Instruments of the EU Programmes (NCP), an agency affiliated with the Polish government.

“Cooperation between the EIF and BOŚ Bank is particularly valuable in terms of growing the Polish market so that it can offer smaller entrepreneurs better access to financing for sustainable investment,” said NCP head,Arkadiusz Lewicki.

Poland’s Minister ofDevelopment Funds and Regional Policy Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, welcomed the transaction, highlighting that the Polish government was working hand in hand with the European Commission and the European Investment Fund to support SMEs seeking greater sustainability.

 “All companies face the challenge of climate and energy transformation. Entrepreneurs who prepare for this the earliest will increase their competitive chances,” she added.

Background information

The EIF is part of the European Investment Bank Group. It supports Europe’s SMEs by improving their access to finance through a wide range of selected financial intermediaries, such as banks, guarantee and leasing companies, micro-credit providers and private equity funds. The EIF designs and offers equity and debt financing instruments fostering EU objectives in support of entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, research and development, the green and digital transitions, and employment.

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 and growth. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. That guarantee will back investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

BOŚ Bank is a Polish commercial bank present on the market since 1991. BOŚ Bank’s specialty is financing of environment protection projects. Since the beginning of its operations, the bank has financed environment-friendly investments totaling some €7 billion. BOŚ Bank also offers retail, corporate and investment banking, as well as other financial services. BOŚ Bank is the parent company in the BOŚ S.A. Capital Group, which also comprises Dom Maklerski BOŚ S.A. and BOŚ Leasing - Eko Profit S.A. BOŚ Bank has been listed on the main market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1997. Most of the bank’s shares are held by state agencies for environmental protection and water management (NFOŚiGW), as well as forests (DGLP).

National Contact Point for Financial Instruments of the EU Programmes (NCP) acts as a consultancy in facilitating access of Polish entrepreneurs and institutions to financing generated through EU support, including InvestEU. NCP supports the implementation of such projects, as well as engaging in information and promotional activities. NCP is supervised by the Polish government and its services are free of charge.

Press contacts

EIB: Gabriela Baczyńska, g.baczynska@eib.org, +48 502 355 634
Website: www.eif.org – www.eib.org/press – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

BOŚ Bank: Marta Serowka, marta.serowka@bosbank.pl, +48 515 011 382

Website: Bank Ochrony Srodowiska EN | Bank Ochrony Środowiska – Press office: +48 22 850 88 63     –  biuroprasowe@bosbank.pl