• CaixaBank is one of the EIB's most active banking partners, channelling more than 2 billion euro in financing to Spanish businesses.

• CaixaBank continues to work in global partnerships with agencies and multilateral organisations to support business investment.

CaixaBank, the leading bank in the Spanish market, will provide funding to businesses via a 300 million euro loan granted by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan agreement was signed this morning by Juan María Nin, Vice-Chairman and CEO of CaixaBank, and Carlos Guille, the EIB's Deputy Director General for Operations in the European Union.

The credit facility granted to CaixaBank may be used to finance investment projects in any European Union member state by midcaps (companies with up to 3,000 employees) and SMEs (less than 250 employees). The facility may be used to fund productive investment projects or working capital of up to 25 million euro for SMEs and up to 50 million euro for midcap company investments.

The bank remains committed to supporting enterprising SMEs that create jobs. CaixaBank currently provides more than €2.0bn in business funding via the EIB and 590 million euro in business guarantees for direct EIB financing, making CaixaBank one of the EIB's most active banking partners in the Spanish market. The last EIB credit facility granted to CaixaBank to finance SME investment led to more than 600 million euro being channelled into investment projects.

At the signing, Juan María Nin emphasized CaixaBank's "commitment to supporting viable business projects that benefit society as a whole by buoying economic activity and creating jobs". The CEO of CaixaBank also emphasized that in the current economic climate "shared efforts and successful cooperation with the European Investment Bank is more important than ever, with the EIB representing the ideal partner to help SMEs get access to funding".

Operations with the EIB

CaixaBank continues to work in global partnerships with agencies and multilateral organisations to drive business growth and its customer base. In 2012 CaixaBank joined the EIB - Moderna Plan to help finance SME projects in the region of Navarra, while it also implemented a credit facility for long-term subsidized rental housing in Catalonia: 18 private developments with 765 homes built in Barcelona, Lleida and Girona.

About the European Investment Bank

Providing support to SMEs is a priority for the EIB, with the aim of helping to create employment and drive growth in the European Union. During 2012 the European Investment Bank channelled 2.68 billion euro into new credit facilities in Spain alone, which supported 24,280 SME projects.

The EIB is an international financial institution and its shareholders are the member states of the European Union. It provides long-term financing for viable investment projects to help achieve EU policy goals.

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