Poland: EIB Group and Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy join forces to facilitate new financing for SMEs

• European Investment Bank Group supports new financing capacity for EFL by means of a synthetic securitisation.
• EFL commits to originate new leases for an amount of €572 million (PLN 2.5 billion) for sustainable investments by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland.

The European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) signed a revolving synthetic securitisation with Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy S.A. (EFL) for a portfolio of leasing receivables of PLN 2 billion. The operation is a continuation of the longstanding cooperation between EFL, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) and is expected to support entrepreneurship, job creation and economic growth in Poland.

Under the arrangement, EFL pledges to supply financing of PLN 2.5 billion to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises over a three-year period. It is expected that at least PLN 172 million of the new financing is allocated to projects aligned with climate action and environmental sustainability. The new financing is further expected to benefit a large number of entities based in less developed regions (in terms of per capita income), underlining the EIB Group’s commitment to equitable growth and social and territorial cohesion.

Vice-President of the EIB, prof. Teresa Czerwińska said: “Supporting new lending capacity to SMEs is of pivotal importance for maintaining job creation and economic growth. We are glad that we can broaden our long-term relation with Europejski Fundusz Leasingowy and we are sure that this financing will support sustainable entrepreneurship in the cohesion regions.”

“The deal will make a meaningful contribution to improving the access to lease financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Poland,” said EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt. “It shows how the EIF in collaboration with the EIB can unlock additional new sustainable lending by investing in both the mezzanine and the senior tranches of the transaction.”

“We are proud of another successful transaction with our long-term partner, the EIB Group. Together, we managed to agree on a solution that will enable further support of the Polish leasing and long-term rental market in a responsible and sustainable way, and is in line with the strategy of the Crédit Agricole Group", concluded Radosław Woźniak, CEO of EFL.

The enhanced lending capacity of EFL is enabled by the credit protection provided by the EIB Group. More specifically, the EIF is providing unfunded protection to EFL by investing in the mezzanine tranche of PLN 250 million and the senior tranche of PLN 1,717 million of a granular portfolio of Polish lease receivables linked to light vehicles, machinery and equipment, and trucks and trailers, with a total outstanding balance of PLN 2 billion. Half of the EIF’s exposure to the senior tranche and 100% of EIF’s exposure to the mezzanine tranche is in turn counter-guaranteed by the EIB and allows the redeployment of EFL’s capital to support the economy. EFL retains the junior tranche and full exposure to a set of selected leases with similar characteristics as the referenced exposures.

The transaction features a use-it-or-lose-it synthetic excess spread mechanism, a 2-year replenishment period and a pro rata amortisation of the senior tranche and the mezzanine tranche (subject to performance triggers). Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Santander Corporate & Investment Banking acted as joint arrangers for EFL.

This is the EIB Group’s fourth securitisation operation with EFL. The previous investments have mobilised capital, provided funding and encouraged new lending to micro, small and medium-sized companies in Poland, with particular focus on improving access to finance for borrowers in cohesion regions, for micro-enterprises and for companies with strong female participation.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union. Its shareholders are the EU Member States. The EIB's remit is to contribute to the achievement of the European Union’s policy objectives by providing long-term finance for viable projects. The EIB’s activities focus on the following priority areas: climate and environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized businesses, infrastructure and cohesion. The EIB works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the development of the European Union and support EU policies in over 140 countries around the world.

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 by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF contributes to the pursuit of key EU policy objectives such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability and more.

EFL was founded in 1991, as one of the first leasing companies in Poland. Since 2001, EFL has been part of the Crédit Agricole Group, which guarantees the company's financial stability and security and allows it to benefit from the knowledge and experience of a financial institution with an international reach. EFL is consistently expanding its range of solutions for business.  The EFL Group includes the fleet company Carefleet, the factoring company Eurofactor and Truck Care, which offers comprehensive commercial vehicle rental created with the transport business in mind. Within the EFL Group, the company offers a broad package of products: leasing, loan, fleet services, long-term rental, insurance and factoring. Since 1991, EFL has worked with the most important manufacturers and suppliers of machinery, equipment, vehicles and other fixed assets. The company has been awarded, among others, the Business Superbrands 2021, 2022, the title of Customer Friendly Company six times and the Financial Brand of the Year seven times. More than 382,000 customers have already chosen EFL as their business partner. More at: www.efl.pl  

Press contact

EIB:
Katarzyna Karpiuk, tel.: +352 43 79 70611 / Mobile: +48 502 355 687
Website: www.eib.org/press - Press Office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org