The EIB Group and the Financing of SMEs in Europe after the Crisis

Since the late sixties the European Investment Bank (EIB) has been involved in financing SMEs in Europe, through bank intermediation. This policy has been extensively deployed over the years and was to become one of the Bank’s top priorities (EUR 22bn in 2013). As the bank of the European Union, the EIB has been developing this policy by operating in each EU country as a force for cohesion, for transferring experience and for solidarity. Thus, in 2013 the Bank was able to provide Greek SMEs with EUR 1.5bn and is financing their current exports to the tune of EUR 500 m. Similar mechanisms have been deployed, mutatis mutandis, in Ireland, Portugal and Spain.

In countries that were not so badly affected by the crisis, the EIB and its subsidiary the EIF have been working in close cooperation with 370 banks and 481 investment funds in Europe. In 2013, more than EUR 1.8bn was intermediated in favour of French SMEs to reduce market failures by providing long-term EIB finance, or through EIF equity participations, microfinance or guarantees. These EU resources have been used by some 150,000 SME investments totaling EUR 5.6bn.