Bigbank and the EIB Group join forces to unlock over €250 million for Baltic businesses

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• Landmark synthetic securitisation between Bigbank and the EIB Group will boost financing for SMEs across the Baltics.
• Agreement enables Bigbank to provide more than €250 million in new SME and mid‑cap financing over three years.
• Bigbank’s first synthetic securitisation transaction strengthens its lending capacity.

Estonian-based Bigbank AS has signed a synthetic securitisation transaction with the European Investment Bank Group, comprising the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF). The transaction, which is the first synthetic securitisation transaction for the Bigbank, will support new lending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with a particular focus on micro-enterprises, young companies and environmentally sustainable investments.

Under the agreement, the EIF is providing Bigbank with a financial guarantee covering a reference portfolio of more than €210 million, consisting of loans, credit lines and leases. The guarantee provides credit risk protection on a senior tranche of €184.3 million and a mezzanine tranche of €23.1 million. The EIF’s exposure to the mezzanine tranche, as well as part of its exposure to the senior tranche, is counter-guaranteed by the EIB. Bigbank retains the junior tranche of the portfolio, amounting to approximately €2.6 million.

The transaction will reduce Bigbank’s regulatory capital requirements. In line with the obligations set out in the transaction documentation, Bigbank intends to redeploy the capital released to generate approximately €253.6 million of additional lending to SMEs and mid-caps over the next three years.

“This first synthetic securitisation transaction is an important milestone for Bigbank,” said Argo Kiltsmann, CFO of Bigbank. “It helps to finance small and medium-sized enterprises in all the Baltic countries with better pricing terms. Together with the European Investment Bank Group we are helping Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian businesses to grow and fulfil their plans which need affordable financing.”

“This agreement with Bigbank demonstrates once again how innovative financial tools can strengthen Europe’s economy by directing more financing to microenterprises that need it most,” said Karl Nehammer, Vice-President of EIB. “By helping Bigbank free up capital for new lending, we are enabling thousands of Baltic SMEs and mid‑caps to invest, innovate and grow. This way, we are supporting sustainable and inclusive economic development across the region.”

“This first synthetic securitisation with Bigbank marks an important step in expanding access to finance for businesses across the Baltics,” said Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of EIF. “By sharing risk with the bank, our aim is to unlock fresh lending for businesses that form the backbone of local economies. The transaction supports entrepreneurship, strengthens the financial sector, and channels capital in the direction of real economic and social impact.”

Background information

Bigbank AS (www.bigbank.eu), with over 30 years of operating history, is a commercial bank owned by Estonian capital. As of 31 January 2026, the bank’s total assets amounted to 3.4 billion euros, with equity of 303 million euros. Operating in nine countries, the bank serves over 190,000 active customers and employs more than 650 people. The credit rating agency Moody’s has assigned Bigbank a long-term bank deposit rating of Ba1, along with a baseline credit assessment (BCA) and an adjusted BCA of Ba2.

The EIBGroup

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed 100 billion euros of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructures, the EIB Group crowds-in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium size businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilizes private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs.