SMEs: The EIB Group supports your financial investments

Supporting the investments of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the engine of Europe’s economy, is one of the EIB Group key priorities.

During 2011, the EIB Group provided €13bn of finance for SMEs and midcaps companies. Overall more than 120,000 SMEs received EIB Group support across Europe last year.

SMEs account for more than two thirds of private sector employment in Europe and grow more quickly than larger firms, making them an important source of new jobs.

However, their size also makes them more vulnerable in times of crisis as they have more difficulty accessing finance in adverse economic circumstances.

The funding provided in 2011 reflects the exceptional level of SME loan contracts the EIB concluded with partner banks in 2009/10 and the efforts made by the EIB and the European Investment Fund to reach micro enterprises, another important mechanism for getting people out of unemployment.

EIB loans for SMEs are channelled through commercial banks.

Between 2009 and 2011 signatures of EIB loans for SMEs and midcaps with intermediary banks between have reached some EUR 33 billion. More than 180 000 entreprises received finance from the EIB during this three year period.

• Primary Source

EIB: Publications http://www.eib.europa.eu/infocentre/publications/index.htm

---