Santander’s SME support will provide credit for businesses with fewer than 250 employees looking for loans up to £10 million on terms upward of two years.
Santander has claimed that the new EIB funding complemented its commitment to UK SMEs and was in line with a lending strategy which had seen support grow by an average of 20 per cent per annum over the last four years.
To date, Santander has lent £550 million through the EIB scheme, helping 270 companies to invest in and grow their businesses.
Support for small and medium-sized enterprises reached EUR 13 billion. More than 200,000 SMEs received direct or indirect support through the EIB Group’s activity in 2012.
Last year more than 20,000 European SMEs benefited from European Investment Bank funding, and over the last three years EUR 60 billion has been provided to SMEs across Europe and beyond by the bank. Over the last three years the EIB has signed EUR 1.7 billion for SME funding in the UK.
Commenting on the news, Marcelino Castrillo, Managing Director at Santander Corporate & Commercial, said: “Ensuring businesses are able to access affordable investment capital is crucial for the UK’s economic recovery.
“Thanks to our partnership with the EIB, we will be able to assist more small and medium-sized customers with their expansion plans at discounted rates, helping to create local jobs and fuel this recovery.”
Also speaking on the news, Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President, responsible for the UK, said: “The EIB is pleased to increase funding for UK based SMEs through Santander.
“This is part of our wider engagement to assist small companies to grow and create jobs across the UK and elsewhere in Europe to continue to access investment finance during economically challenging times."
Leave a comment