In a press release published on 18 July, the EIB and ING have announced €600m in new loans and leases to small businesses in the Benelux countries--half will go to ING’s corporate clients in Luxembourg and Belgium; the other will go to corporate clients in the Netherlands. The financing is meant to support entrepreneurs make investments that have a positive impact on climate and the environment.

“By now it is clear to almost everyone that becoming more sustainable is a must. As Europe’s climate bank and also within the framework of the European Green Deal, the EIB wants to offer support and encouragement at both the macro and micro level to green society,” said Kris Peeters, vice-president at the EIB. Peeters’ areas of oversight includes operations in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. “Thanks to this partnership with ING, we can also reach out to small and medium-sized businesses, and now give them too an extra incentive, in the form of interest rate rebates, to really start doing something about the environmental aspect of their operations.”

This the eighth such transaction since 2009, notes the EIB’s press release. The seven previous programmes have provided financing to approximately 3,000 companies for a total of €1.85bn. Loan applications must meet ING’s usual credit conditions, and must also be consistent with EU taxonomy to ensure that the investments contribute improving the climate and environment. 

The EIB started its operations in Luxembourg in 1959 and has financed 59 projects since then, for a total of €3.55bn. Since the start of its operations, €1.053bn (or 29.86%) of financing has been in the transport sector. Last year, the bulk of the EIB Group’s activity in Luxembourg was dedicated to financing for innovation, digital and human capital (€300m), followed by sustainable energy and natural resources (€89m), sustainable cities and regions (€35m), and SME and mid-cap finance (€2.05m).