50 million euros for innovative companies
In May, ING Luxembourg and the European Investment Fund signed an agreement to increase lending to innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and small mid-caps.
EIF Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert (2nd right) and Luc Verbeken, CEO of ING Luxembourg (2nd left), are signing the agreement.
Lending will take place under the flag of the InnovFin SME guarantee, a joint initiative by the EIB Group and the European Commission.
This is the first InnovFin SME guarantee signature in Luxembourg, enabling ING to offer innovative companies additional financing at favourable interest-rate conditions for a total of € 50 million over the next two years with the support of a guarantee provided by the European Investment Fund (EIF). The guarantee is backed under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
The aim of the InnovFin SME Guarantee is to encourage banks or other financial institutions to lend to SMEs and small mid-caps (firms with fewer than 50 and 500 employees, respectively) in need of investment and/or operating capital to finance research, development and innovation activities, with EU financial support. Financial institutions are being selected by the EIF following a call for expression of interest for financial intermediaries across Europe.
It’s important to support local companies that perform a key role in developing the Luxembourg economy
Luc Verbeken, CEO of ING Luxembourg, says: “We’re very proud to be the first partner of the EIF in providing finance to Luxembourg innovative companies. As a top five, full universal bank, and the number four in the mid-corporate market, it’s an important part of our efforts to support local companies and more specifically SMEs which perform a key role in the development of the Luxembourg economy.”
ING Luxembourg’s customer base consists of 116,000 customers, of which 89,000 retail and 17,000 SMEs/mid-caps. It has 16 branches.
This initiative perfectly fits one of ING’s key objectives in its new Think Forward strategy to maintain sustainable positions in SME lending in all of its countries.
About InnovFin SME Guarantee
InnovFin SME Guarantee provides guarantees and counter-guarantees on debt financing of between € 25,000 and € 7.5 million, in order to improve access to debt finance for innovative SMEs and small midcaps. The InnovFin SME Guarantee is implemented by the European Investment Fund, and is rolled out through financial intermediaries, such as banks, in EU Member States and Associated Countries.