Finnish companies to get €190m loan from Finnvera, EIF

Finnvera and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have signed a guarantee agreement that provides growth-driven Finnish companies access to new loans to the sum of EUR 190 million over the next two years, said a press release of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Following the signing of this agreement, Finnvera will introduce a new guarantee product for SMEs. The guarantee is intended to facilitate SMEs’ access to loans for various purposes, such as investments, working capital, and product development.

The EIF will provide a counter-guarantee to cover 50 per cent of the guarantees given by Finnvera to SMEs. It is estimated that at least 2,000 Finnish enterprises will benefit from the financing made available by the agreement.

This financing is made possible thanks to the Guarantee that has been provided by COSME and the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe, or Juncker Plan.

COSME, or the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, is designed to improve access to finance for SMEs.

“As stated in the Government Programme, our objective is to support the provision of a more diverse range of financing alternatives to start-ups and SMEs. The agreement between Finnvera and the European Investment Fund is particularly important for regional growth-driven enterprises that lack adequate valuable security,” said Katri Kulmuni, Minister of Economic Affairs.

“The EFSI financing for Finland approved by the European Investment Bank Group amounts to more than EUR 2 billion. Relative to our population, this is the largest sum of all EU countries. Relative to our gross domestic product, we are in eighth place, which can be considered a good achievement,” Kulmuni added.

“Growth often requires financing, and one of our key objectives is to enable the growth of Finnish SMEs. The agreement with the European Investment Fund provides growth-seeking SMEs better opportunities of getting a bank loan. Applying for our new SME guarantee is very easy: the lending bank applies for the guarantee from Finnvera, on behalf of the company,” explained Juuso Heinilä, Executive Vice President at Finnvera.