EIF guarantee of up to €40 million to Banco Caminos and Bancofar to leverage up to €57 million in support for SMEs and small mid-caps impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in Spain.
The agreement is backed by the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), part of the €540 billion EU rescue package approved in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

New agreement aimed at providing financing to Spanish companies affected by the economic crisis signed by the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group, Banco Caminos, a financial institution that provides a wide range of banking and financial services to civil engineers, and Bancofar, a financial institution specialised in professionals and companies operating in the pharmaceutical and health sector.. The agreement is backed by the Pan-European Guarantee Fund (EGF), part of the €540 billion EU rescue package approved in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The EIF will provide a €40 million uncapped guarantee to Banco Caminos and Bancofar, enabling the Spanish financial institutions to originate a portfolio of €57 million of financing for SMEs and small mid-caps focused financing civil engineers and pharmaceutical/health sector to mitigate the economic consequences by the COVID-19 crisis. It is estimated that the agreement signed will facilitate access to finance at advantageous conditions for more than 185 small businesses affected by the pandemic, thereby also safeguarding employment levels. Thanks to the EGF guarantee, Banco Caminos and Bancofar will be incentivised to provide debt financing to eligible entities at favorable terms, ensuring that Spanish businesses are able to continue their growth and development in the medium to long term. The EIF will provide a 70% guarantee on a portfolio of new lending.

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard stated: “Once again, the European Guarantee Fund allows the EIF to broaden its reach and support for SMEs across Spain. We are delighted to join forces with Banco Caminos to mobilise up to €57 million of financing to mitigate the economic consequences generated by the pandemic.”

“This agreement is a great example of the EIB Group’s commitment to support an inclusive recovery of the Spanish economy by supporting small businesses through additional credit lines. Ensuring that SMEs and midcaps have sufficient liquidity is key to promote their recovery and shelter employment” said EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix.

Banco Caminos Chief Executive Officer, Enrique Serra, highlighted: “This agreement reflects our purpose of being a professional bank to professional people. We are committed to help SMEs and small mid-caps of civil engineers and pharmaceutical sector to foster their businesses and preserve their employment levels. This alliance with the European Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank Group is a perfect example of how we must respond to Covid-19 crisis to assure a better future for these sectors”.

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 Spain 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.

Banco Caminos is a Spanish Bank whose activity has been linked since inception to the collective of civil engineers as well as to its related sectors and activities. It was created in 1977 as the saving bank of the Civil Engineers Guild and in 2008 it became Banco Caminos S.A. Currently it belongs to Grupo Caminos, being its parent company, one of the main Spanish groups of specialized banking, which includes two financial entities (Banco Caminos and Bancofar), a fund manager (Gestifonsa) and an insurance company (FAM).

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

Banco Caminos:
Lucas Serrano, te.:l +34 676 497 804 lserrano@bancocaminos.es
Website: https://www.bancocaminos.es/inicio – Press office: +34 91 310 95 50 – comunicacion@bancocaminos.es