European Investment Bank and Greek Banks Partner to Provide €6.5 Billion in Financing to Companies Affected by COVID-19

Strategic Insights -

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €2.7 billion guarantee agreement with four Greek banks, Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank, under the European Guarantee Fund (EGF). This partnership will provide €6.5 billion in financing to companies across Greece that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EGF is a key element of Europe's response to the pandemic, and this initiative will help companies with sustainable business plans to recover from COVID-related challenges.

Key Takeaways:

  • The EIB has signed a €2.7 billion guarantee agreement with four Greek banks under the EGF, providing €6.5 billion in financing to companies across Greece.
  • This partnership is the first-ever guarantee operations signed by the EIB in Greece and the first-ever intermediated operations to strengthen access to finance by large corporates.
  • The initiative also includes the first synthetic securitisation executed by the EIB Group in Greece, contributing to the strengthening of the Greek securitisation market.
  • The EGF has been set up by the EIB Group with contributions from 22 EU Member States to enhance support for companies struggling with business challenges related to COVID.
  • The partnership will help companies with sustainable business plans to recover from COVID-related challenges and support healthy businesses to get the support they need to protect jobs and grow in a sustainable way.
  • The EIB Group has approved €23.2 billion of EGF backing in 401 individual operations in all 22 participating countries since December 2020.
  • The EGF operations follow and complement other transactions already signed by the EIB Group in Greece in response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States, and the EIB Group has partnered with Greek banks to provide crucial crisis support.
  • The partnership includes a guarantee on a first-loss piece of a synthetic securitisation of SME loans originated by Eurobank, one of the very first such transactions signed by the EIB Group under the EGF.

Statistics:

  • €6.5 billion in financing will be provided to companies across Greece that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • €2.7 billion of guarantees have been signed with Greek banks under the EGF.
  • €23.2 billion of EGF backing has been approved in 401 individual operations in all 22 participating countries since December 2020.
  • 15 years of partnership between Eurobank and the EIB Group have helped finance Greek businesses and support the Greek economy to grow.
  • 3 billion euros have been unlocked by NBG through various programs to support the recovery of healthy Greek businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic and their further growth.

Sources:

  • European Investment Bank (EIB)
  • European Investment Fund (EIF)
  • Alpha Bank
  • National Bank of Greece (NBG)
  • Eurobank
  • Piraeus Bank
  • European Union (EU)
  • European Guarantee Fund (EGF)