- Two InvestEU‑backed guarantee agreements totalling EUR 800 million will support sustainable transformation of more than 4,600 SMEs
- Cooperation to benefit businesses throughout Deutsche Leasing’s European network, covering key industrial markets across the EU.
Luxemburg/Bad Homburg: The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the EIB Group, and Deutsche Sparkassen Leasing AG & Co. KG (Deutsche Leasing), have signed two new guarantee agreements that strengthen strategic cooperation to support the sustainable transformation of SMEs across Deutsche Leasing’s European network.
These were formally signed by Kai Ostermann, CEO of Deutsche Leasing and Nicola Beer, EIB Vice President at Deutsche Leasing’s headquarters in Bad Homburg.
“Across Europe, small and medium sized companies are at the heart of the green transition, but they often face the highest barriers when it comes to financing new, cleaner technologies,” said Nicola Beer, Vice President of the EIB Group. “With these new InvestEU Sustainability Portfolio backed EIF guarantees for Deutsche Leasing, we are joining forces with the Sparkassen Finanzgruppe to unlock up to EUR 1.1 billion of sustainable investments across 14 countries, helping thousands of SMEs modernise their equipment and cut energy bills to strengthen their competitiveness and accelerating Europe’s path to climate neutrality.”‑sized companies are at the heart of the green transition, but they often face the highest barriers when it comes to financing new, cleaner technologies,” said Nicola Beer, Vice‑President of the EIB Group.
Kai Ostermann, CEO of Deutsche Leasing, said: “For decades, we have been supporting our medium-sized clients in financing innovation and transformation. Targeted support is a vital lever, particularly for SMEs, to make transformation projects economically viable and to realize sustainable and innovative investments. Alongside the ongoing integration of EIB global loans for SMEs, the guarantee agreements concluded with the EIF round off our portfolio for sustainable transformation financing. These agreements create additional incentives for companies seeking to make their business activities climate-friendly and future-proof. In this way, together with the SME sector, we are successfully implementing sustainable transformation – in Germany as well as in Europe."
By sharing risk with the EIF, Deutsche Leasing can finance ambitious investment and pass on more favourable terms to its customers, making green investment more attractive.
The package consists of one uncapped and one capped guarantee under the InvestEU Sustainability Product – Climate Change Mitigation, with maximum guarantee amounts of EUR 200 million and EUR 600 million respectively, both at up to 70% guarantee rate; the capped guarantee has a 5% cap rate.
In total, the EIF will provide up to EUR 800 million of InvestEU‑backed guarantees, enabling Deutsche Leasing to build a portfolio of up to EUR 1.1 billion in new sustainable asset finance for SMEs and Small Mid‑Caps.
Together, the portfolios are expected to cover around 4,600 leasing and loan contracts, with financing amounts of up to EUR 8.25m, tailored to the needs of SMEs and Small Mid‑Caps.
Background information
In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing for more than 870 high-impact projects across eight key priority areas that support EU policy objectives: climate action and environmental sustainability, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
In 2025 the EIB Group provided a record EUR 10.401 billion for investment across Germany, including EUR 1.367 billion from the EIF to support business investment across Germany, through private equity and guarantee financing.
All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Agreement.
The Deutsche Leasing Group is a solution-oriented asset finance partner for German medium-sized enterprises. For over 60 years, the company has supported investment projects both domestically and abroad, offering comprehensive financing solutions (Asset Finance) as well as complementary services (Asset Services) for fixed and current assets.
As a central, internationally focused partner within the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, it supports German SMEs in financing transformation and innovation—ranging from decarbonization and digitalization to future-proof infrastructure. In its international business, Deutsche Leasing is active in over 20 countries, including the most important export markets in Europe, China, the USA, Canada, and Brazil. In the 2023/24 fiscal year, the company achieved a new business volume of €10.3 billion and employed approximately 3,100 people worldwide.