New EIF guarantee to BNP Paribas Bank Polska will inject over €160 million in financing to SMEs and housing associations in Poland

• EIF and BNP Bank Polska sign InvestEU guarantee worth up to €105 million
• Guarantee lets BNP Paribas Bank Polska extend over €160 million in new debt financing
• Support aimed at innovative SMEs and Small MidCaps, housing associations and sustainable investment projects
• Deal marks the EIF’s biggest guarantee in Poland to date

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and BNP Paribas Bank Polska signed a portfolio guarantee worth up to €105 million to boost financing to startups and scaleups, small and medium-sized enterprises, small mid-caps and housing associations in Poland. On the back of the guarantee, BNP Paribas Bank Polska will offer over €160 million in new debt financing to support sustainable investment projects, housing associations’ energy transformation, as well as innovative companies. Sealed under InvestEU, the transaction will extend financing to entities underserved on the Polish market.

“The guarantee to BNP Paribas Bank Polska goes to the core mission of the European Investment Fund and the entire European Investment Bank Group, which is to finance green transition, innovation and SMEs. Our role is to help drive sustainable economic development by offering tailor-made financial assistance in support of Europe’s strategic goals,” said EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska. “This smart agreement adds to the growing list of InvestEU transactions in Poland and highlights the noteworthy expansion of EIF activities in the country. I particularly welcome focus on energy upgrades of residential buildings, an important aspect of green transition.”

Under the terms of the agreement, €40 million is earmarked for housing associations in Poland with the view to modernising residential buildings for better energy efficiency and equipping them with renewable sources of heat and energy like solar panels and heat pumps. Another €40 million of the guarantee will support micro and small companies investing in sustainable projects such as energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Those companies will be able to finance their investment projects through investment loans and leasing. The remaining €25 million will allow BNP Paribas Bank Polska to offer new lending to innovative startups and scaleups.

“In our long-term cooperation with the EIB Group, this partnership with EIF under InvestEU is another milestone that underscores our focus on improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprints and fostering sustainable projects. The benefits of this cooperation will be felt, first and foremost, by our clients: this new agreement will have an impact on our support for the green transformation and the innovative growth and development of our clients’ businesses, that is at the top of our strategic priorities,” commented Przemek Gdański, CEO of BNP Paribas Bank Polska.

The agreement is the EIF’s biggest guarantee in Poland since the fund launched its operations in the country in 1994. It is also the EIF’s first uncapped guarantee with a commercial bank in Poland supported by InvestEU, the European Union’s funding programme for sustainable private and public investments.

“EIF and BNP Paribas Bank Polska join forces to add over €160 million in new financing for green and innovative SMEs, housing associations and sustainable investments in Poland. It’s the biggest ever EIF portfolio guarantee in Poland, and I hope to see more such deals to the benefit of the local economy and Europe’s green transition,” said EIF CEO Marjut Falkstedt.

An uncapped portfolio guarantee reduces lending risk and allows the financial intermediary - a bank or a leasing company - to offer increased debt financing on competitive terms with less regulatory capital. This enhances access to finance and helps stimulate the economy.

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

“We are glad that another Polish bank has joined the InvestEU family of financial intermediaries. The area in which EFI and Bank BNP Paribas will cooperate is particularly valuable for the development of the Polish market in terms of smaller entrepreneurs’ access to financing for innovation and digitalisation, and for real estate owners (housing associations) in developing energy efficiency. NCP supported Bank BNP Paribas in preparing the application and will also support the promotion of the offer on the Polish market,” said NCP head, Arkadiusz Lewicki.

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.

BNP Paribas Bank Polska S.A. has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 2011. It is a member of the BNP Paribas banking group with footprint spanning 63 countries. In Poland, as a universal bank with a global reach, it provides services to retail customers and other segments including wealth management, microbusinesses, SMEs and corporate banking. An advocate of green initiatives, BNP Paribas supports its clients in transition to a low carbon economy, endeavours to curtail adverse impact of its operations on natural environment and inspires clients to make good financial decisions.

Press contacts

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