Lithuanian businesses and creative industries get €70 million credit boost under EIF deal with Mano Bankas

• EIF provides Lithuanian bank Mano Bankas guarantees to expand a credit line by €70 million
• Of extra loan sum, €50 million available for small companies to counter pandemic’s impact as well as adapt to climate change and €15 million foreseen for creative industries
• Guarantees extended under European Commission`s InvestEU programme

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is providing Lithuanian bank Mano Bankas guarantees to expand an existing credit line for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by €70 million. The move by the EIF, which is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, unlocks €25 million for SMEs to bolster liquidity weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic and €25 million for a range of climate-adaptation steps. A further €15 million will be available to SMEs in the creative industries including publishing, audio-visual art, video gaming, radio and television.

The EIF guarantees are being extended under the European Commission`s InvestEU programme. They come on top of a 2022 EIF guarantee agreement with Mano Bankas that unlocked more than €40 million in new loans for businesses in Lithuania.

“Our partnership with with Mano Bankas under the InvestEU programme aims to boost the competitiveness of the Lithuanian economy,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “Together we have created a considerable credit line to finance businesses that will generate new employment opportunities and accelerate the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Furthermore, with financing for the creative industries, we are supporting an important – yet underserved – part of the Lithuanian economy.”

Financing for climate adaptation will be for projects to introduce renewable-energy sources and improve energy efficiency in buildings. SMEs will be able to invest in low-emission and zero-emission transport projects as well as in information and communication technology upgrades that result in lower energy consumption.

“We are continuing our successful cooperation with the EIF,” said Mano Bankas Chief Executive Officer Giedre Blazgiene. "We have already granted loans to the Lithuanian small and medium-sized enterprises for more than €32 million under the previous agreement signed in 2022. The scope of the financing programmes has been expanding and thus, such cooperation will allow financing the business that has suffered because of the pandemic, as well as the business developing ecological and cultural projects,” says CEO of Mano Bankas, Mrs Giedre Blazgiene.

An important boost for Lithuanian creative industries

The latest EIF-Mano Bankas partnership expands InvestEU support in Lithuania for SMEs with cultural, artistic or other creative activities.  The credit line at Mano Bankas and the EIF guarantees help ensure the flow of credit in Lithuania to a sector that has long faced financing obstacles because its business models differ from traditional ones. Financing is available to companies operating in, among other areas, publishing, art galleries, theatres, radio, TV and computer applications.

The creative industries account for more than 4% of the European gross domestic product and represent about 10% of all businesses in the service sector, creating some 7 million jobs. Lithuania has more than 10,000 enterprises in the creative industry, and they are responsible for 5% of jobs in the country.

Background information

About the EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by its member states. It supports sound investments that contribute to EU policy objectives.

Financing for Europe’s security and defence industry is among the EIB Group’s strategic priorities. We provide a comprehensive range of financial support and solutions designed to meet the demands of companies and public sector entities in the security and defence sector, regardless of their size. From reconnaissance and surveillance, spectrum protection and control, to cybersecurity solutions, infrastructure and military mobility, our financing solutions are designed to bolster projects that keep Europe safe, resilient and innovative.

About Mano Bankas

Mano Bankas is a financial institution with experience of 28 years. It received a specialised bank licence in 2018. The bank is providing various crediting and payment services to more than 5 thousand business and private customers, the majority of which consists of small and medium-sized enterprises. The bank is connected to international payment systems SWIFT, SEPA, TARGET2, and thus, it can offer international payments in all the world to its customers, including instant payments. According to the non-audited data of the 1st quarter of 2024, the assets of Mano Bankas amounted to 293 million euro, loan portfolio – 114 million euro, and portfolio of term deposits – 140 million euro.

About InvestEU

The programme InvestEU provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging private and public funds in support of Europe’s sustainable recovery. It helps to mobilize private investments for the EU's top policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal, digital transition and support to SME. The programme InvestEU recruits all the EU financial products to support the investments – the financing of projects is getting simpler, more effective and flexible. The programme consists of three components: InvestEU Fund, InvestEU Advisory Hub and InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is operating through its financial partners who are going to invest into the projects using the EU budget guarantee of 26,2 billion euro. The total budget guarantee will be used to support the investment projects of the partners implementing the programme, will increase their capacity to accept the risk, and hence, it will gather at least 372 billion euro of additional investments.

Press contacts

EIB Group: Kristiina Randmaa, Media Officer, +352 4379 72894, k.randmaa@ext.eib.org
Website: www.eib.org/press – Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Mano Bankas: Ieva Kutkaite, Head of Marketing,, +370 630 42540, ieva.k@mano.bank

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