EIB lends EUR 300 million to novobanco for financing SMEs & MidCaps and Climate Action

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 300 million loan to novobanco to facilitate the financing of projects undertaken by SMEs (firms with up to 250 employees), MidCaps (firms with up to 3000 employees) and Public Sector Entities (PSEs). The loan agreement was signed in Lisbon today.

The EIB loan will finance small and medium-sized projects in eligible sectors. The loan will help addressing the working capital, liquidity needs and investment constraints of SMEs, MidCaps and PSEs, who are currently facing an unprecedented energy crisis, soaring inflation and rise in interest rates, which could severely set back the emerging post-pandemic economic recovery in Portugal.

This credit line will support the financing of investment projects costing up to EUR 25 million in the case of SMEs and MidCaps, mainly operating in Portugal.

A sizeable component of this operation (30%) will be dedicated to finance green investments mainly in the areas of smart transportation, as well as other taxonomy aligned initiatives in the renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Additionally, a significant portion of the on-lending of NB to final beneficiaries will benefit Cohesion Regions, therefore, the operation will also contribute to the European Union priorities on Convergence and Social Cohesion, hence reducing regional disparities.

With this new loan, novobanco will reach a total of EUR 1.926 million in EIB net credit lines extended to the Portuguese Economy.

These funding instruments are particularly important to novobanco as they allow the Portuguese SMEs and MidCaps to gain access to more favorable loan terms and to additional green investments financing sources.