Through an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) we are supporting small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) and enterprises having less than 3,000 employees (Midcaps) by providing access to an invaluable source of lower cost finance and flexible repayment schedules.

The EIB is the long-term lending bank of the European Union whose role is to finance investment projects in support of EU policy objectives. Our partnership with EIB allows us to leverage on its ability to borrow funds on favorable terms given its excellent rating on the capital markets (AAA), and to the channel these to SMEs and Midcaps. This is to inform the SMEs and Midcaps specifically and individually of the EIB’s involvement and its impact on the financial terms of the loan received.

This avails vital new lines of credit, with a loan term of 2 years (the actual length of the loan will depend on the economic and technical life of the project financed) and that can be used to finance from very small projects to investments with a maximum cost of EUR 25million. These funds can be accessed by the usual means through BRD loan application process.

Who is eligible?

• Local SMEs with less than 250 employees on a consolidated basis prior to the investment.
• Local MidCaps with less than 3 000 employees on a consolidated basis prior to the investment.
• Most economic sectors are eligible with a few exceptions, amongst which production of weapons and ammunition, arms, military or police equipment or infrastructures, equipment or infrastructure limiting people’s individual rights and freedom, activities which give rise to environmental impact, activities considered ethically or morally controversial or prohibited by national legislation, activities targeting the production or sale of goods which are the subject of an act infringing a trade mark or a geographical indication, gambling and tobacco related activities.

What can it be used for?

• Tangible investments: purchase, renovation, or extension of tangible assets, with some restrictions concerning land purchases.
• Intangible investments: particularly the expenditure involved in R&D, purchase of process licenses and software.
• Medium and long-term working capital requirements needed for the operational activity of the SME or MidCap.

In line with most of such loans, it offers your business the advantage of receiving longer tenors compared to standard business lending conditions, the confidence to negotiate the term or repayment frequency of the loan to suit the circumstances and cash-flow requirements for your business, as well as allowing you to invest significantly in your business without adversely affecting your cash-flow or liquidity.

It is important to note that EIB loans are channeled through us, therefore, it is entirely up to us to examine the application and to decide whether or not to grant the loan.