EIB Group and Santander support small businesses with €1 billion to invest in competitiveness and green transition, boost the role of women and promote construction of sustainable buildings

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• The EIB Group – via its subsidiaries the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund – is investing in a new Santander securitisation transaction to back the competitiveness and investments of small businesses and mid-caps in Spain.
• €200 million will go to financing the construction of near-zero emission buildings by small businesses and mid-caps in the real estate sector.
• €70 million will also be directed to supporting companies whose shareholders or management teams are mostly women.
• Operation will promote the competitiveness of Spanish companies and contribute to the EIB Group’s strategic priority of strengthening the EU capital markets.

The EIB Group – made up of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) – has signed a new €569.5 million securitisation operation with Santander. This securitisation operation will enable Santander to direct around €1.08 billion to financing the green transition and the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Spain. €200 million of the total will go to financing the construction of near-zero emission buildings by SMEs and mid-caps in the real estate sector. €70 million will also go towards supporting companies whose shareholders or management teams are mostly women.

The EIB will contribute €309.5 million to the operation, while the EIF will provide €260 million. €200 million of the EIF’s total of €260 million will be provided via a bilateral guarantee with ING. The entire EIB Group investment is being made through a single securitisation operation in which other private investors have also participated.

This operation once again shows the EIB Group’s role in promoting financial instruments like securitisation operations, helping to unlock capital to boost green projects, cut the risk taken on by financial institutions and strengthen the EU capital markets union, which is one of the EIB Group’s strategic priorities. The operation will also contribute to other EIB Group strategic priorities, including climate action and environmental sustainability and social and territorial cohesion.

Background information

EIB Group

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, it finances investments that pursue EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.

Around half of EIB financing in the European Union goes to cohesion regions, where per capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability. 

In Spain, the EIB Group signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.

Santander

Banco Santander (SAN SM) is a leading commercial bank founded in 1857, headquartered in Spain. It is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalisation. The group’s activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform, providing services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. At the end of the third quarter of 2025, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total customer funds, 178 million customers, 7,400 branches and 201,000 employees.