Nordea has collaborated with the EIF for several years to boost growth and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Nordic region. The agreement has been gradually expanded to include more countries and funding, now covering Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In 2025, funding was increased to EUR 560 million.

The loan guarantees, supported by the European Commission's InvestEU programme, are available in two main categories: sustainability and innovation investments. The agreement runs until 2030, and Nordea has so far provided EUR 177 million in guarantees to Nordic SMEs. While most guarantees have been issued for innovation investments (around 60%) Nordic businesses have also shown growing interest in using the guarantees for sustainability investments, with around EUR 70 million issued to date.

Companies mainly use the guarantees to fund growth ambitions or their energy transition, focusing primarily on investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Head of Business Banking Nina Arkilahti.

"At Nordea, we're proud to see how our partnership with the EIF is making a real difference for small and medium-sized enterprises across the Nordic region,” says Head of Business Banking Nina Arkilahti. 

“Through the loan guarantee agreement, we're helping businesses transform climate ambitions into concrete actions. The agreement makes climate mitigation both practical and easier to finance for SMEs.” 

“The growing interest in the sustainability guarantees demonstrates that businesses recognise the dual benefit: they can reduce their environmental impact while simultaneously strengthening their financial resilience against energy price volatility." 

Nordea’s partnership with the European Investment Fund

The partnership between Nordea and the EIF has a proven track record of supporting Nordic businesses. Previous successful initiatives include the InnovFin programme, which ended in 2020, and the European Guarantee Fund, which ended in 2022, both of which played crucial roles in supporting SMEs during challenging times.

The current agreement covers two types of guarantees: a sustainability guarantee that supports the transition to a sustainable economy by promoting environmentally friendly investments, such as decarbonisation, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, and an innovation and digitalisation guarantee for research and innovation-intensive companies, supporting their use of digital technologies.

 

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