EIF supports L-Bank in offering a guarantee programme for small and medium sized companies in Baden-Württemberg

• L-Bank, the Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg, has signed a counter-guarantee with the European Investment Fund. 
• The €30 million counter-guarantee, made possible by the InvestEU programme, enables regional banks to support SME financing for sustainability and innovation of up to €61million.

Luxembourg/Stuttgart, 12 December 2024: Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg (L-Bank) will increase its guarantee-support via regional financial institutions to finance small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The European Investment Fund (EIF) supports this programme by providing a counter-guarantee of up to 70% on a €30 million portfolio of guarantees for SMEs and small mid-caps active in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The risk sharing of EIF, L-Bank and the regional banking partners will support SME financing of up to €61 million.

The EIF’s counter-guarantees are made possible by the European InvestEU programme, making use of two of its guarantee products: the Sustainability & Green Transformation product, and the Innovation & Digitalisation product.

• The EIF Sustainability Guarantee aims to support the green and sustainable transformation of the economy, and the uptake of environmentally friendly, green and inclusive investments by small companies.
• The EIF Innovation and Digitalisation Guarantee will enable regional banks to support innovation and the growth of small and medium companies working in research and development, and or the adoption of new digital technologies.

The EIF-backing translates into preferential financing conditions for the benefit of SMEs and small midcaps, enabling their investments into sustainability and innovation.

“InvestEU was set up as an instrument to boost the investments of European SMEs and innovative companies”, said Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, “We are delighted to be expanding our collaboration with our long-term partner and shareholder L-Bank through the InvestEU programme to support German businesses as they navigate the twin green and digital transitions.”

“L-Bank's partnership with the European Investment Fund already has a long tradition”, says Edith Weymayr, Chief Executive Officer of the board of L-Bank. “We are now continuing this very successful cooperation with the new InvestEU guarantee program. Both established small and medium-sized companies in Baden-Württemberg and start-ups will benefit from this. They can secure loans of up to EUR 7.5 million with up to 70 percent cover via the L-Bank InvestEU program. The EIF's counter-guarantee of up to 70 percent of our L-Bank guarantees also creates scope for investments of around EUR 61 million. A sum with which we can jointly advance the digital and sustainable transformation of Baden-Württemberg's economy and the state. That is the goal of the EIF and L-Bank.”

Background information:

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group. Its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) 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 fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for the European Union’s policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

L-Bank is the promotional bank of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is a credit institution under public law in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Its main tasks include the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises and business start-ups, the promotion of affordable and climate-friendly housing, the promotion of infrastructure and the promotion of families with children. It is driven by the desire to make Baden-Württemberg a liveable and economically strong state. Its aim is to keep the state of Baden-Württemberg liveable and economically strong and to drive forward the sustainable and digital transformation. It does not compete with banks and savings banks, but works actively with them to develop financing solutions. L-Bank currently employs over 1.500 people.

Press contacts:

Donata Riedel, d.riedel@eib.org, tel.: +49 30 590047 900, mobile: +49 151 1465 9021
Website: www.eif.org - Press Office: www.eib.org/press, +352 4379 21000, press@eib.org

Cordula Bräuninger, tel. +49 721 1501259, Benjamin Quinten, tel. +49 721 1501887, presse@l-bank.de, www.l-bank.info