illimity Bank’s digital arm b-ilty to provide funding for Italian SMEs in new EIB deal

illimity Bank’s digital arm b-ilty to provide funding for Italian SMEs in new EIB deal

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a €200m deal with illimity Bank to provide funding to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Italy. The two banks will mobilize €100m each in 2023 to ensure that SMEs have access to credit on favourable terms. The agreement requires at least 30% of the funds to be used to finance businesses operating in cohesion regions, and at least 20% of the new funds must support investments made by Italian companies in the energy transition. This is the second deal between the EIB and illimity Bank, the first one was signed in 2021, enabling funding of over €1bn to be provided for the liquidity needs of Italian SMEs.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 13-Apr-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, and illimity Bank S.p.A. (illimity) have signed a €200 million agreement to support the working capital and liquidity needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Italy, with a focus on sustainable investments and businesses operating in cohesion regions.

The agreement further consolidates the collaboration between the two banks and will lead to each mobilizing €100 million in funds in 2023, enabling SMEs to access credit on favorable terms.

Through b-ilty, the illimity Group’s digital bank specializing in providing financial services and credit to companies with a turnover of between €2 million and €15 million, illimity will provide €100 million in funding to these businesses. B-ilty’s fully digital platform and flexible structure allow it to provide the best possible support to the various types of business found across Italy.

At least 30% of the funds will be used to finance businesses operating in cohesion regions, including Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia, Abruzzo, Umbria, and Marche. This is in line with the European Union’s cross-cutting objective of economic, social, and territorial development.

Additionally, at least 20% of the new funds will support investments made by Italian companies in the energy transition, with specific emphasis given to projects consistent with the EU’s priority objectives for achieving environmental sustainability, including the development of renewable energy (solar photovoltaic), energy efficiency, sustainable mobility (electric vehicles and charging infrastructure), and projects for sustainable water and waste management.

This is the second agreement between the EIB Group and illimity Bank, following a previous deal that provided over €1 billion in funding for the liquidity needs of Italian SMEs.

“The aim of this operation with illimity is to foster two of the EIB’s cross-cutting objectives, namely climate and social cohesion, by providing new funding at favourable terms for small and medium-sized businesses wishing to invest in a more sustainable and inclusive future,” stated EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.

CEO and Founder of illimity Corrado Passera commented: “illimity was conceived with the ambition of enhancing and supporting entrepreneurship in Italy. Our commitment, working alongside businesses, is further confirmed by this agreement which enables new funding to be provided to SMEs in the highly complex period we are currently experiencing.  Working with the EIB once again allows us to provide even greater support to businesses with potential intending to boost their growth, in this way contributing to a positive economic, social and environmental change in their local area.”

Background information

European Investment Bank (EIB)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) funds projects in four priority sectors: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the EIB Group provided more than €45 billion in financing for projects in Italy.

illimity Bank S.p.A.

illimity is the high-tech banking group founded and headed by Corrado Passera that was created with the aim of responding to specific market needs by way of an innovative and specialist business model. More specifically, illimity extends financing to high-potential SMEs, purchases distressed corporate loans and services these through its platform ARECneprix and provides digital direct banking services through illimitybank.com. illimity SGR, which sets up and manages alternative investment funds, the first of which dedicated to UTP loans, is also a member of the group. The story of the illimity Group began in January 2018 with the launch of the special purpose acquisition company SPAXS S.p.A., which ended with a record €600 million being raised on the market. SPAXS subsequently acquired Banca Interprovinciale S.p.A., with the resulting merger between the two giving rise to illimity Bank S.p.A. which has been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 5 March 2019 (ticker “ILTY”), first on the MTA exchange and since September 2020 on the STAR segment. The banking group, headquartered in Milan, can already count on over 850 employees and ended 2022 with assets of around €6.3 billion.

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank