• The European Investment Bank is stepping up its cooperation with ING to support entrepreneurs with loans and leases with favourable terms for new investments that have a positive impact on the climate and the environment.
• This is the eighth joint programme between the European Investment Bank and ING aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises based in the Benelux since 2009 and the second programme aimed at boosting sustainability since 2019.

ING and the European Investment Bank have strengthened their long-term partnership by making over €600 million available for new loans and leases to small and medium-sized enterprises in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Half of this sum will go to corporate clients of ING in the Netherlands and the other half to corporate clients of ING in Belgium and Luxembourg.

In the eighth such transaction since 2009, the EIB is lending €300m to ING, which is putting in an equal amount to provide a total of €600m in new loans and leases to entrepreneurs for sustainable investments. The EIB’s loan allows ING to provide loans and leases at a lower interest rate.

Starting in 2009, the seven previous programmes have provided financing on attractive terms to around 3,000 companies, totalling €1.85 billion.

Laurens de Vos, Head of Business Banking at ING Netherlands: “Partnering with the European Investment Bank allows us to offer business financing with an attractive interest rate discount for investments with a positive impact on the climate and the environment. This can encourage companies to opt for sustainable investments even sooner. An ING survey earlier this year showed that Dutch companies want to accelerate on sustainability. As a bank, we would like to support them in this through financing. The significant interest rate discount obviously helps, and with this, entrepreneurs can invest in, for example, electric vehicles, sustainable forms of production and green buildings.”

See related article: EIB To Finance Climate Action Projects in Chile With More Than €300 Million Including its First Green Mortgage Loan Outside Europe

Saskia Bauters, Head of Business Banking Sales at ING Belgium: “The agreement with the European Investment Bank allows us to offer our business customers a significant interest rate discount for financing sustainable projects. The benefit fits perfectly with the other elements of our sustainability strategy. The discount can be the push that makes SMEs choose the most sustainable solution. In this way, we support our customers and work together towards a sustainable economy that will help achieve climate objectives.”

Kris Peeters, vice president of the EIB “”by now it is clear to almost everyone that becoming more sustainable is a must. As Europe’s climate bank and also within the framework of the European Green Deal, the EIB wants to offer support and encouragement at both the macro and micro level to green society. Thanks to this partnership with ING, we can also reach out to small and medium-sized businesses, and now give them too an extra incentive, in the form of interest rate rebates, to really start doing something about the environmental aspect of their operations.””

Applications for a loan or lease must meet ING’s usual credit conditions. In addition, ING carries out checks to ensure that the financing is used for an investment that contributes to climate and environmental improvement. To this end, conditions are laid down in the agreement between the EIB and ING that are consistent with the EU Taxonomy Loans and leases are available for companies with up to 3,000 employees. The total investment may not exceed €25 million, and the loan amount is a maximum of €10 million. The final approval of the loan or lease rests with ING.