- The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides €185 million to DLL in support of new lending to entrepreneurs in the Benelux with circular economy-related or sustainability plans.
- DLL will match-fund the EIB loan amount to provide a total of €370 million in climate-related financing to SMEs in the Benelux region.
- The facility supports the climate commitments of both institutions as well as the ambitions of the Benelux countries themselves in making available more money for climate finance.
DLL and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed new lending agreements that will make available up to €370 million in new lending to climate-conscious SMEs in the Benelux. The EIB will provide €60 million in sustainability lending for Belgium and the Netherlands as part of a wider European green financing program, of which a first portion was signed recently in Ireland. Alongside this, the EIB will lend €125 million for circularity initiatives in the Benelux region as a whole. As DLL will match-fund both figures, a total of €370 million in new financing will become available for SMEs with green or circular projects.
Catherine Meyers, General Manager for Benelux at DLL, said: “This funding from the European Investment Bank helps us and our partners to provide our joint customers with suitable lease proposals with an interest benefit that lowers the threshold to invest in used refurbished machines. In this way, we can stimulate the circular economy and create a win-win for all parties involved. One example is our collaboration with Vervaet Rebuild, which for instance offers rebuilt Vervaet slurry injectors and beet harvesters to farmers who don’t want to invest in new equipment but do require a machine that is not inferior to a new machine in terms of quality, reliability and capacity.”
Heddi Khatib, Account Manager Construction, Transportation and Industrial at DLL, confirms: “Another good example is crane rental companies in the Netherlands, which not only compose their fleet in terms of tonnage but also in terms of new and used refurbished equipment. They make informed decisions when investing in used mobile cranes, and when a reconditioned used crane can be adjusted according to their needs, it will retain its value.”
"Green business will continue to increase in importance, as shown by recent paradigm shifts in lending, bond issuing and buying,” said EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters. “DLL and the EIB are longstanding partners and we hope that this agreement will be seen as a signal that green business makes sense also from a financial point of view.”
The new lending to be made available by DLL is intended for circular economy projects and sustainability initiatives by SMEs as intended in the European taxonomy. The final lending decisions rest with DLL.
