Three guarantees from the European Investment Fund to kompasbank will free up financing to support some 840 Danish SMEs with improved lending conditions.
This will enable kompasbank to make available at least €175 million in new lending for competitiveness and skills, and projects targeting sustainability and climate mitigation.
Guarantees made possible with support of InvestEU programme, which aims to trigger over €372 billion in additional investment over the 2021-2027 period.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Danish corporate bank kompasbank a/s have signed portfolio guarantee agreements to provide at least €175 million in new loans to Danish small and medium-sized businesses. The EIF guarantees will allow kompasbank to support Danish companies with improved lending conditions such as reduced interest rates and longer maturities. The agreements are supported by the InvestEU programme, which aims to trigger more than €372 billion in additional investments over the period 2021-2027.

“Access to finance for SMEs continues to be an issue around the Nordics.” Said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “Danish businesses play a leading role in the green transition and we’re happy to build on our partnership with kompasbank to support the availability of targeted financing for small companies – especially when it comes to supporting skills and financing climate change mitigation.”

"We often find that Danish SMEs have to drop specific growth initiatives or are forced to lower their ambitions because they do not have sufficient and fast enough access to financing. It is bad for companies' competitiveness - but also for the economy and job creation - because it costs money when good and sound investment cases are put on standby," says Michael Hurup Andersen, Founder & CEO of kompasbank a/s and continues:

"We are pleased that, with the new EIF agreement, we can help hundreds of more SMEs to quickly and frictionlessly realize their growth ambitions while supporting the green transition and contributing to more investments in education and skills."

The three EIF guarantees will enable and incentivise kompasbank to take on riskier lending segments, including start-ups. As the guarantees are supported under the InvestEU programme with a specific thematic focus, one part will target skills and investments related to education. A second guarantee will focus on supporting Danish SMEs making investments for the green and sustainable transformation of the Danish economy, especially the ones focusing on projects targeting climate change mitigation. Finally, thanks to a specific guarantee aimed at riskier investments, Danish SMEs and start-ups can also look forward to new lending from kompasbank against improved conditions.

Background information

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 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.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable economy. It helps generate additional investments in line with EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal, the digital transition and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments together under one roof, 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 implemented through financial partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. This guarantee increases their risk-bearing capacity, thus mobilising at least €372 billion in additional investment.

kompasbank A/S

kompasbank is a Danish business bank for small- and medium-sized companies that provides loans for fixed- and current assets, working capital, property and minor acquisition financing. kompasbank secured a full EU banking licence from the Danish FSA in March 2021, and began operations in full by January 2022. The bank licence is applicable to all EU countries, and is currently operating in Denmark, Germany and Spain.

For more information: www.kompasbank.dk.

Press contacts

EIB Group: Tim Smit | +352 691 286 423 | t.smit@eib.org
European Commission: Ignazio Cocchiere | +32 2 29 82261 | ignazio.cocchiere@ec.europa.eu
kompasbank a/s: Kasper Kankelborg | +45 2613 5771 | kasper@kompasbank.dk