The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Deutsche Bank Italy have signed a guarantee agreement to support lending to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as Small Mid-caps under an initiative funded by the European Commission.

The new agreement signed under the Risk Sharing Instrument (RSI) initiative allows Deutsche Bank Italy to provide innovative companies in Italy with access to a total of EUR 40m of financing for the next two years with support of the 50% guarantee provided by the EIF. This enables Deutsche Bank Italy to offer innovative companies additional financing at favourable conditions.

This is the 7^th RSI agreement in Italy and the 27^th in Europe so far, bringing the total loan finance available to innovative businesses across the EU under this initiative to well above EUR 2bn. The agreement signed today will help the bank to finance innovative businesses across the Country.

Commenting on the signature, EIF Director of Guarantees, Securitisation and Microfinance, Alessandro Tappi said: “The EIF is pleased to be signing this Risk Sharing Instrument (RSI) agreement in Italy, under a DG Research and Innovation FP7 programme in support of innovative small and medium sized enterprises with Deutsche Bank Italy. This agreement in Italy will ensure that much needed finance will be quickly channelled to a number of innovation driven businesses in the country.”

"We are pleased and honored to be partner of EIF in a such of deserving project dedicated to the Italian SMEs – said Flavio Valeri, Chief Country Officer Italy for Deutsche Bank – This agreement represents our strong and established commitment in supporting the development of Italian companies, with a specific focus on those which stand for innovation, dynamism and vitality”.

The aim of the RSI Facility is to encourage banks to lend to SMEs and small mid-caps with fewer than 500 employees in need of investment financing and/or operating capital to support research, development and innovation activities, with EU financial support. Banks are being selected by the EIF following a call for expression of interest for financial intermediaries across Europe.

About Risk-Sharing Instrument (RSI) under FP7
The RSI facility aims to encourage banks to provide loans of up to €7.5 million to SMEs and small mid-caps undertaking research, development or innovation, and seeking finance for investments and/or working capital. The RSI is a joint initiative of the EIF, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission. It is supported by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) and uses EIF's risk-taking capacity. It is part of, and complements, the existing Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), managed by the EIB.

Under this facility, the European Investment Fund (EIF) is providing guarantees to banks and leasing companies that lend to SMEs and Small Mid-Caps. The guarantee covers, upon default, up to 50% of the outstanding amount of each loan. Some 25 or so banks are expected to be involved in the pilot phase, allowing the RSI to reach a total loan volume of up to €2.5 billion channelled to innovative SMEs and Small Mid-caps.

The call is open to financial or credit institutions, established and operating in the EU and/or countries associated to FP7, including, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands and Moldova.

About the EIF
The European Investment Fund's (EIF) central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 7.9bn at end 2013. With investments in over 435 funds, EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 5.6bn in over 300 operations at end 2013, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank is a leading client-centric global universal bank, with a strong retail network, around 3000 branches and 100.000 employees in over 70 countries. Founded in Berlin in 1870 to promote commercial relationship between Germany and international markets, Deutsche Bank is the leader in its German home market and enjoys an outstanding position in Europe. The bank also has a strong competitive position in North America as well as in key emerging markets, particularly in Asia. Italy is its largest contributor within Continental Europe (outside Germany). With almost 4.000 employees, more than 600 points of sale and 1.550 financial advisors, Deutsche Bank is one of the most important international financial groups in Italy.

Press contacts:

EIF: David Yormesor, Tel.: +352 42 66 88 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org

Deutsche Bank: Vincenzo Galimi, Tel. +39 02 4024 4793, email: vincenzo.galimi@db.com; Francesca Baldussi, Tel.: +39 02 4024 3218,
email: francesca.baldussi@db.com