EIF signs agreements with Alpha Bank and National Bank of Greece worth EUR 120 million to benefit Greek SMEs

The EIF has signed two SME financing agreements with Alpha Bank and the National Bank of Greece, for total of EUR 60m under the JEREMIE initiative in Greece. Those amounts will be matched by another EUR 60m from the two banks and thus EUR 120m will be available to SMEs.

Those new financing facilities will have a special focus on financing eligible small enterprises in the start-up and newly established phase (with a business history of less than 36 months) with loans up to EUR 100 000, co-financed equally by the JEREMIE Holding Fund and the respective banks.

During the event, marking the launch of the new Funded Risk Sharing agreements with the banks in Athens, Richard Pelly, Chief Executive of EIF stated, “We are delighted to be signing our first JEREMIE agreements with two major banks in Greece. We are convinced that these agreements will help entrepreneurs across the country to start-up and grow businesses which will create jobs and support the economy."

Projects financed by the new facilities will obtain attractive financing terms, and in particular, substantially reduced interest rates.

The two signatures follow the recent decision to increase the Greek JEREMIE Holding Fund by EUR 150m totalling to EUR 250m, demonstrating the EIF’s commitment to enhancing access to finance for Greek SMEs. “National Bank of Greece welcomes the launch of the JEREMIE initiative in Greece. We are very pleased for the opportunity to participate in this first call on SMEs financing. SMEs represent a core priority for National Bank of Greece, hence we are determined to make the best possible utilisation of the program in order to support small businesses at the early stage of their operations, with very competitive financing terms. We are confident that the local small business community will embrace JEREMIE, heralding more such financing initiatives that foster entrepreneurship and growth in the Greek economy“, said Anthimos Thomopoulos, Deputy CEO at the National Bank of Greece.
“We are pleased that we have been selected by European Investment Fund to implement the first JEREMIE agreement and expand financing products for micro, small and medium sized enterprises in Greece. Alpha Bank’s professional Staff which provides services through the extensive Branch network across the country, will support all eligible SMEs to be benefited by the attractive financing terms of this new product.“ said Mr George C. Aronis, General Manager Retail Banking of Alpha Bank.

This transaction is the result of the first Call for Expression of Interest procedure initiated by the EIF in which Alpha Bank and the National Bank of Greece have been selected as Financial Intermediaries for the implementation of the Funded Risk Sharing financial instrument under the JEREMIE initiative in Greece.

Currently, EIF is evaluating the applications received from financial institutions in relation to the latest Call for Expression of Interest published for EUR 30.33m (to be matched by the selected financial intermediary) to support micro finance in Greece (loans up to EUR 25 000 for micro enterprises established from 1 January 2005 onwards). A third Call for Expression of Interest for EUR 90m to support loans to SMEs for ICT related investments was launched on 15th February. This will result in an additional total amount of EUR 180m that will be channelled to SMEs in Greece.
It is expected that through JEREMIE, more than EUR 400m will be channelled in the Greek SME sector, with the majority of those funds to be made available during 2011.

About JEREMIE
JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) is a joint initiative launched by the European Commission (DG Regional Policy) and the European Investment Bank Group to improve access to finance for SMEs in the EU within the Structural Funds framework for the period 2007 - 2013. JEREMIE enables the EU Member States and Regions to put money from the structural funds and also national resources into Holding Funds that can finance SMEs in a flexible and innovative way. Since the products will be provided on a repayment basis, funding will be reinvested and hence more SMEs will benefit from the EU resources.
EIF has currently signed 8 national and 3 regional Holding Fund agreements.
In Greece the JEREMIE Holding Fund is financed from the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Sectoral Operational Programmes “Digital Convergence” and “Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship” and the Regional Operational Programmes “Macedonia - Thrace”, “Crete and Aegean Islands”, “Thessaly - Continental Greece - Epirus” and “Attica” for the period 2007-2013. The JEREMIE Greece Holding Fund amount currently under EIF management is EUR 250m.

About 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 4.3bn. With investments in over 300 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 commitment in guarantees totalled over EUR 13.5bn in close to 160 operations, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

About the National Bank of Greece
National Bank of Greece is the oldest and largest among Greek banks. It boasts a dynamic profile internationally, particularly in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. The NBG Group provides a full range of financial products and services that meet the constantly changing needs of corporate customers and private individuals, including investment banking services, brokerage, insurance, asset management, leasing and factoring. The Bank's main strength is the loyalty shown in it by its customers, who hold over 9 million deposit accounts and more than 1.5 million lending accounts with NBG. As of 30th September 2010, the Group had Total Assets of € 124 bn, of which loan outstandings amounted to € 74 bn.

About Alpha Bank
Alpha Bank, founded in 1879, is one of the largest banks in Greece. With more than 1,000 Branches, the Alpha Bank Group is also active in the international banking markets, with presence in Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine, Albania, F.Y.R.O.M. and the United Kingdom. Alpha Bank Group is one of the leading banking and financial services groups in Greece, offering a wide range of services including retail, SME and corporate banking, credit cards, asset management, investment banking, private banking, brokerage, leasing and factoring. Alpha Bank, within the context of Social responsibility and contributing rewards social well being, takes measures in favour of human resources and the working environment, the preservation of nature, the social and cultural life.

Press contacts:  David Yormesor, EIF Communications, tel +352 426 688 346, e-mail: d.yormesor@eif.org