EIF and BPCE sign first ERASMUS+ Master Student Loan agreement in France to support over 2,000 mobile master students

The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Banque Populaire (Groupe BPCE) have signed the very first Erasmus+ guarantee agreement in France to provide a total of EUR 30m of loans to mobile master's students. 

This agreement will provide financial support for students from France taking their Master degree in one of the 33 Erasmus+ Programme Countries, or students from these countries moving to France for a Master degree. The loan will be provided at favourable conditions thanks to the EU support and will benefit over 2,000 master's students. The agreement between EIF and Banque Populaire is the first in France under the new Erasmus+ loan guarantee scheme financed by the European Union and managed by the European Investment Fund.

Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said: "With the new Erasmus+ Master Loans in France, more students can gain knowledge and skills through a Master's degree taken abroad. I am proud that with financial backing of Erasmus+ programme, Banque Populaire is rolling out this scheme to increase opportunities for student mobility in Europe, and I encourage other banks to follow suit."

EIF Chief Executive, Pier Luigi Gilibert said: “I am pleased to be signing this Erasmus+ Master Student Loan Guarantee with our long-term partner Banque Populaire in France today. This new programme aims at bridging the existing financing gap students are faced with when deciding on pursuing a Master's degree in another country and I am confident that this signature will help to increase the mobility of high-potential students who will become drivers of growth and innovation in Europe."

Chairman of the Management Board of Groupe BPCE, François Pérol said: “Building on our long-term partnership with the European Investment Fund, Banque Populaire is proud to support through this new agreement, French and foreign Erasmus+ Master’s students, allowing them to access loans without a parental guarantee. This agreement strengthens all Banque Populaire banking and other tailored financial solutions dedicated to help students financing education fees, especially abroad."

Thanks to EU support, this new Erasmus+ guarantee scheme allows EIF to provide capped guarantees and counter-guarantees to financial intermediaries which in turn grant loans to students who will move to undertake a master's degree in another country taking part in the Erasmus+ programme. It is expected that under this new programme approximately EUR 3bn of loans will be mobilised to benefit around 200,000 students by 2020.

The Banque Populaire loan: "Erasmus+x" will be available in spring 2016. Master's students who are interested in obtaining finance can get further information at :

http://www.banquepopulaire.fr/Catalogue/Segments/Pages/banque-jeune.aspx?vary=0-0-0.

EIF has launched a Call for Expression of Interest targeting financial institutions and other intermediaries which provide finance to mobile master students. Interested financial institutions can find further information on the programme and application process on EIF’s website at www.eif.org.

About EIF

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance 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. EIF’s total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 8.8 billion at end 2014. With investments in over 500 funds, 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. EIF’s guarantees loan portfolio totalled over EUR 5.6 billion in over 350 operations at end 2014, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About Erasmus + Master Loans

The Erasmus+ programme, of which the Erasmus+ Master Student Loan Guarantee Facility is part, is the biggest mover of students in the EU, with around 300.000 higher education students and staff studying, working or undertaking a traineeship in another European country every year. It is managed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) and its executive agency. The DG's activities in education are also framed by the Education and Training 2020 strategy (ET2020), which contributes on education to the Europe 2020 strategy, designed to promote growth and jobs in Europe.

About the Banque Populaire network 

The Banque Populaire network is comprised of 16 regional Banque Populaire banks, Crédit Coopératif and CASDEN Banque Populaire. These independent financial institutions provide a comprehensive range of commercial banking and insurance services, building on the close relationships forged with their different categories of clientele.

Banque Populaire, which boasts 9.1 million customers (3.9 million of whom are also cooperative shareholders), 3,300 bank branches and 16 e-BanquePopulaire online branches, is a member of the 2nd largest banking group in France: Groupe BPCE.

Press contacts:

EIF: David Yormesor  Tel.: +352 42 66 88 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org

Banque Populaire - Groupe BPCE:

-       Christine Françoise : 01 58 40 46 57 / 06 23 40 31 62

-       Maxime Ventard : 01 58 40 45 75 / 06 20 09 10 24

-       E-mail: presse@bpce.fr

-       Website: www.bpce.fr