Nordea has expanded its guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF), providing increased support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the Nordic region. The enhanced financing arrangement now includes Denmark, alongside Finland, Sweden and Norway, offering a total financing package of €560 million to eligible businesses.
Under the expanded agreement, the EIF guarantee has been increased to €393 million, enabling Nordea to extend its support to a wider range of Nordic companies. This move reinforces Nordea's commitment to fostering sustainable growth and innovation across the region.
Helene Bløcher, Head of Business Banking, Denmark, comments:
"We're thrilled to extend our support to Danish businesses, complementing our existing commitments across the Nordics. This expanded guarantee agreement will significantly boost our ability to assist SMEs in their sustainability and innovation initiatives.”
The EIF loan guarantees, backed by the European Commission's InvestEU programme, are available in two key categories:
“We’ve seen encouraging uptake among Norwegian companies. These guarantees are proving particularly valuable for innovation projects and fast-growing enterprises, but also industrial energy efficiency improvements, and renewable energy initiatives are popular in the Nordic countries. "
"The program enables a wide range of activities, from innovative products and processes, enhancing production processes to installing solar panels, wind turbines, and energy storage systems,” says Jon Brenden, Head of Business Banking, Norway.
The partnership between Nordea and the EIF has a proven track record of supporting Nordic businesses. Previous successful initiatives include the InnovFin programme ending in 2020 and the European Guarantee Fund ending in 2022, both of which played crucial roles in supporting SMEs during challenging times.