It was announced today that the European Investment Fund (part of the EIB Group) and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) have tripled their finance for Irish SMEs under the COSME programme in Ireland with a new increase to EUR 330 million.
The additional EUR 230 million was agreed to meet the demand for new financing requests from Irish companies, after 3,500 SMEs primarily in the agri-sector, fully utilised the EUR 100 million financing supported by the COSME EFSI counter-guarantee agreement signed last year. The loans backed by the European Commission’s COSME programme allowed SBCI to launch a new 3 year risk-sharing product last year which was fully utilised within 6 months.
The EIF agreements with SBCI are guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe. The EIB Group supported the launch of SBCI in 2014 and the opening of the new office last year gives local entrepreneurs a direct contact point in Ireland for EIF and EIB financing solutions. Entrepreneurs will continue to access finance directly from SBCI’s on-lending banks in Ireland.
Speaking today, An Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald said, "I welcome this announcement and I look forward to working with the EIB Group on further significant supports for Irish businesses. In addition to the Brexit Loan Scheme which I recently announced, I am also working with the EIB and the SBCI on the development of a Brexit Investment Loan Guarantee Scheme."
EIB Vice President for Ireland, Andrew McDowell added, "This new engagement follows successful financing for 3,500 companies under the COSME programme signed last year and that is now being extended by an additional EUR 230 m. It demonstrates the EIB Group’s strengthened support to enable new investment by thousands of companies across Ireland at a time of uncertainty relating to Brexit. Today’s agreement is also expected to be followed by a EUR 300m joint scheme with SBCI to address working capital challenges of Irish companies as announced in last months’ budget."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
