First RSI guarantee agreement in Germany for innovative businesses

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Deutsche Bank have signed a guarantee agreement to support lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under the Risk Sharing Instrument (RSI), a joint initiative of the European Investment Bank Group and the European Commission.

This agreement allows Deutsche Bank to provide innovative companies with access to a total of EUR 120 million of debt finance over the next two years and with support of the 50% guarantee offered by the EIF. This will make it easier for Deutsche Bank to offer innovative companies additional financing at favourable conditions.

The aim of the RSI Facility is to encourage banks to lend to SMEs and small mid-caps with fewer than 500 employees in need of investment financing and/or operating capital to support research, development and innovation activities. Banks are being selected by the EIF following a call for expression of interest for financial intermediaries across the Europe.

Commenting on the signature, EIF Chief Executive, Richard Pelly said: “I am pleased to be signing our first RSI agreement in Germany under the new Risk Sharing Instrument (RSI) in support of innovative small and medium sized enterprises. Through the provision of a 50% guarantee, EIF will be helping Deutsche Bank to channel much needed finance efficiently to innovation driven businesses in the country.”

Dr. Ulrich Schürenkrämer, Member of the Deutsche Bank’s Management Committee Germany, said: “This partnership means that we have a brand-new financing instrument for our mid-cap clients to support the innovative strength of German companies. We are delighted that the EIF has chosen Deutsche Bank as the first partner for the scheme in Germany. This is a recognition for our expertise in German mid-cap consulting.”

The Risk-Sharing Instrument (RSI)

RSI is a pilot guarantee scheme which supports the financing of R&D and/or innovation driven SMEs and Small Mid-Caps. The RSI is a joint initiative of the EIF, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission. It is supported by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) and uses EIF's risk-taking capacity. It is part of, and complements, the existing Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), managed by the EIB.

Under this facility, the European Investment Fund (EIF) is, in return for a fee, providing guarantees to banks and leasing companies that lend to SMEs and Small Mid-Caps. The guarantee covers, upon default, 50% of the outstanding amount of each loan. Some 10 or so banks are expected to be involved in the pilot phase, allowing the RSI to reach up to 1000 beneficiaries with a total loan volume of up to €1.0 billion.

The call is open to financial or credit institutions, established and operating in the EU and/or countries associated to FP7, including, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Turkey, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Faroe Islands and Moldova.

About the EIF

EIF's central mission is to support Europe's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance.  EIF designs and develops venture capital and guarantees instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. The EIF total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 6.9bn at end 2012. With investments in over 435 funds, the EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. The EIF guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 4.8bn in close to 255 operations at end 2012, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About Deutsche Bank www.db.com

Read the German press release issued by Deutsche Bank

Press contacts:

• EIF: David Yormesor, tel.: +352 42 66 88 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org
• Deutsche Bank: Tim Oliver Ambrosius, Tel.: +49 69 910 42648, Email: tim-oliver.ambrosius@db.com