What we do
Institutional investors
Equity products
AI Co-Investment Facility
Cleantech Co-Investment Facility
Impact investing at the EIF
Climate & Infrastructure Funds
Technology Transfer
European Angels Fund (EAF) - Co-investments with Business Angels
Venture capital
The Social Impact Accelerator (SIA)
Lower mid-market
Mezzanine Facility for Growth
VentureEU
EFSI Equity instrument
Single EU Equity Financial Instrument
COSME - Equity Facility for Growth
InnovFin Equity
Private equity secondary market transactions
EIF-NPI Equity Platform
ESCALAR Programme
Debt products
New ESIF ERDF Guarantee Fund initiative in Greece
EFSI Private Credit Programme
AGRI Guarantee Facility
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
Credit enhancement
Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF)
ENSI - Securitisation Initiative
Erasmus+ Master Loan Guarantee Facility
Skills & Education Guarantee Pilot
EREM debt products
Single EU Debt Financial Instrument
Documentary Finance Facility – Bulgaria
The SME Initiative
The SME Initiative Bulgaria
The SME Initiative Finland
The SME Initiative Italy
The SME Initiative Malta
The SME Initiative Romania
The SME Initiative Spain
Inclusive finance
EaSI Financial Instruments
EaSI Capacity Building Investments Window
EaSI Guarantee Instrument
EaSI Funded Instrument
European Progress Microfinance Facility
Entrepreneurs supported through Progress Microfinance
European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
How does EIF contribute to EFSI
How to apply for EFSI financing
Regional Development - Country and sector-specific initiatives
Normandie Garantie Agri
FAIRE - La Réunion
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes FEADER
Recovery Equity Fund of Funds of Bulgaria
Fons d’Inversió en Tecnologia Avançada (FITA) Catalonia
Dutch Future Fund (DFF)
Dutch Alternative Credit Instrument (DACI)
PORTUGAL BLUE: a new initiative for blue economy investments
JEREMIE Greece Reflows – Business Angels’ Co-Investment Equity Instrument
German Corona Matching Facility (CMF)
Portugal Growth programme
Central and Eastern European Technology Transfer (CEETT)
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP) II
Croatian Growth Investment Programme (CROGIP)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative 2 (CVCi 2)
AGRI Italy Platform Uncapped Guarantee Instrument
DISPOSITIF INSTRUMENTS FINANCIERS BOURGOGNE FRANCHE-COMTÉ
ALTER’NA – ESIF EARFD Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Baltic Innovation Fund 1 (BIF 1)
Baltic Innovation Fund 2 (BIF 2)
Central Europe Fund of Funds (CEFoF)
Croatian Venture Capital Initiative (CVCi FoF)
Competitiveness Fund-of-Funds for SMEs in Romania
The Cyprus Entrepreneurship Fund (CYPEF)
Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Initiative East Guarantee Facility (DCFTA)
EU4Business Capped Guarantee
Dutch Growth Co-Investment Programme
Dutch Venture Initiative (DVI-II)
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Greece
EAFRD FoF Portugal
EAFRD FoF Romania
The ERP-EIF Facility
ERP-EIF Co-Investment Growth Facility
The LfA-EIF Facilities
The German Future Fund (GFF) - EIF Growth Facility
INAF – French National Agricultural Initiative
ESIF Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Malta
Regional Fund-of-Funds Romania
ESIF Fund-of-Funds Czech Republic
The Silesia EIF Fund of Funds
La Financière Région Réunion
The EIB Group Risk Enhancement Mandate (EREM)
EstFund
Call for Expression of Interest for FOSTER II
Greater Anatolia Guarantee Facility (GAGF)
G43 - Anatolian Venture Capital Fund Project
InvestBG Equity Instrument
JEREMIE
Romania Recovery Equity Fund of Funds
JEREMIE Romania Reflows – Equity Instrument
Luxembourg Future Fund 1 (LFF)
Luxembourg Future Fund 2
Mezzanine 'Fund of Fund' for Germany (MDD)
NEOTEC resources
Polish Growth Fund of Funds (PGFF)
Portugal Venture Capital Initiative (PVCi)
Scottish-European Growth Co-Investment Programme
Slovene Equity Growth Investment Programme (SEGIP)
Swedish Venture Initiative (SVI)
Turkish Growth and Innovation Fund (TGIF)
Western Balkans Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility (WB EDIF)
EAFRD FoF Greece
Irish Innovation Seed Fund (IISF)
RRF Czech Republic Fund of Funds

EGF: EIF and Millennium bcp support Portuguese SMEs hit by COVID-19 crisis with nearly €1.2 billion

  •  
    Date: 07 April 2021
  • Two agreements signed between the EIF and BCP under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF):
    • Uncapped guarantee of up to €527 million
    • Capped guarantee of up to €650 million

The European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group, and Millennium bcp (BCP) joined forces once again to support the recovery  of small and medium-sized Portuguese businesses (SMEs) affected by the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

The EIF and BCP have signed today two agreements under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF) for a total of nearly €1.2 billion.

The EGF, operational since October and approved by the European Council as part of the package of response measures of the European Union (EU) to the economic impact caused by COVID-19, aims to support companies affected by COVID-19, with great emphasis on SMEs.

Thanks to EGF, BCP will provide debt financing to SMEs on more favourable terms, ensuring that companies in Portugal have sufficient financing available to mitigate the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, enabling them to continue their growth and development plans in the medium to long-term.

By assuming up to 70% of the risk of the loans that BCP grants to SMEs under EGF, the EIF will promote the granting of new financing.

Alain Godard, EIF Chief Executive, said: We are delighted to partner up with BCP to support small and medium sized businesses in Portugal, the hardest hit companies by the economic constraints posed by the pandemic. I am proud to see that the EGF is proving to be a powerful pan-European instrument with which we can help Europe recover from the terrible impact of COVID-19.”

Ricardo Mourinho Felix, EIB Vice-President, responsible for the EIB Group operations in Portugal, added that : “The EIB Group is supporting Portugal in tackling the challenges caused by the pandemic. SMEs represent a substantial part of the economic tissue and employment landscape in Portugal. For this reason, nearly three-quarter of the 2020 EIB Group’s financing in the country was dedicated to support the financial needs of SMEs, having signed projects with Portuguese banks for a total of €1.690 million. Supporting Portuguese SMEs remains one of the EIB Group main priorities for 2021 and the operation with BCP under the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF) shows our strong commitment in achieving this objective.”

Miguel Maya, CEO of Millennium bcp, said: “Millennium bcp is increasingly asserting itself as the benchmark bank for Portuguese businesses, playing a prominent role in supporting the recovery of the Portuguese economy and the modernization of companies in the challenging environment caused by the pandemic. Having overcome the demanding context of 2020, in which Millennium bcp financed more than 4 billion euros covering some 30,000 companies, the bank is now significantly strengthening its capacity to support investment, helping companies to prepare and become more competitive globally in the transition to a more resilient, green and digital economy. Millennium bcp today signs the largest contract ever with the FEI / EIB in Portugal, further signalling its commitment to companies operating in Portugal.”

 

Background information:

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.

The European Guarantee Fund (EGF) was set up by the EIB Group with contributions from Portugal and other EU Member States to shield companies suffering from the COVID-19 crisis. Using nearly €25 billion in guarantees, the EGF allows the EIB and the EIF to quickly make loans, guarantees, asset-backed securities, equity and other financial instruments available to mostly small and medium-sized enterprises. The EGF is part of the European Union’s recovery package aiming to provide a total of €540 billion boost those parts of the EU economy that have been hit the worst.

Millennium bcp is the leading Portuguese Bank for Corporate and SMEs with 19.6% credit market share and almost €20bn of corporate credit, supporting more than 220,000 companies. Millennium bcp is the market leader for the most significant customer segments, with 25% market share in Factoring and Confirming, 20% in Leasing, 22% of Exporters, 35% of the European Funds and 32% of the National Guarantee System. Millennium bcp is also the top ranked  bank for the best SMEs in Portugal, named Bank #1 for “PME Líder” and “PME Excelência” - Government Awards - from 2018-2020, with 28% market share.

 

Press contacts:

EIF:

Lorenzo Squintani, tel.: +352 691 285 772, l.squintani@eib.org

Website: www.eif.org – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Follow us on Twitter @eif_eu 

 

Millennium bcp:

Erik T. Burns tel.:+351 917 265 020 erik.burns@millenniumbcp.pt  Website: www.millenniumbcp.pt

 

We use cookies to give the best browser experience on our website. or change cookie settings.

Note: Following the recent withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, we are updating the relevant EIF.org pages.

 
 

Copyright ©

 European Investment Fund   – The European Investment Fund is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.