the EU bank

Investment in research, development and innovation (RDI) has been identified as a key factor to improve competitiveness and ensure long term economic growth and employment in Europe. But finding private funding sources for RDI projects can be difficult due to their nature:

• complex products and technologies
• unproven markets
• intangible assets
• information difficult to evaluate by the financial sector.

For this reason, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank have joined forces to set up the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF). RSFF is an innovative scheme to improve access to debt financing for private companies or public institutions promoting activities in the field of RDI.

RSFF is built on the principle of credit risk sharing between the European Community and the EIB and extends therefore the ability of the Bank to provide loans or guarantees for investment with a higher risk and reward profile. The RSFF has a EUR 2bn capital cushion, EUR 1bn from the EIB and the same amount from the Commission's 7^th Research Framework Programme (2007-2013), enabling the Bank to lend more than EUR 10bn for this kind of investment. By mid-2010 already EUR 6bn had been committed.

RSFF financing is available for promoters and entities of all sizes and ownerships, including corporations, midcaps, small and medium-sized enterprises, special purpose companies, public-private partnerships and joint ventures, research institutes, universities and science and technology parks.