• The funding aims to improve access to finance in the Baltic region, with a focus on supporting the green transition.
• The agreement will facilitate over €332 million in new financing for businesses.
• The additional lending is aimed at small to medium-sized companies and mid-caps. 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Luminor Bank AS today signed a €115 million agreement to facilitate additional lending to small to medium-sized companies and mid-caps in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The blending of the EIB loan with Luminor’s resources will pave the way for over €332 million in new financing with more favourable conditions for businesses across the Baltics.

The loan is intended to stimulate growth in the Baltic region, with a focus on supporting the green transition of the economy. The financing will be used for investment that will contribute to the reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions, while helping the Baltic countries to meet the climate targets in their nationwide strategies. Some 85% of the finance unlocked by the EIB is expected to benefit cohesion regions and thus help to reduce regional income disparities.

“The Baltic countries are dynamic and forward-looking, with the green transition increasingly in economic focus,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros, responsible for the Bank’s operations in the region. “With that in mind, improving access to adequate financing for small businesses and mid-caps is instrumental in ensuring the financial viability of their projects and growth, and it ultimately supports employment and social cohesion in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.”

“Luminor’s mission is to improve the financial health of our customers and our home countries and, while the economic outlook across Europe remains uncertain, this initiative will further strengthen our continued readiness to support SME businesses as lending demand resumes,” said Palle Nordahl, Chief Financial Officer at Luminor. “We also welcome the EIB’s commitment to financing investments that promote the transition to a greener economy, while stimulating economic growth across our home nations.”

Background information

The EIB is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by the EU Member States. The EIB Group has adopted a Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to devote more than half of EIB finance to climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since the start of 2021.

Luminor is the leading independent bank in the Baltics and the third-largest provider of financial services in the region. It serves the financial needs of individuals, families and companies. It is there to improve the financial health of its customers and home countries, and to support their growth.