The European Investment Bank, Rabobank and Rabobank's equipment finance subsidiary DLL have signed a combined EUR 500 million loan facility that will make EUR 1 billion available to small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-caps across Europe. The programme, concluded in July 2025 and announced by the EIB on its website, focuses on sustainability transitions, circular economy activities and the modernisation of agriculture.
The arrangement is structured as two parallel EUR 250 million EIB loans: one directed to Rabobank and one to DLL, each matched by the receiving institution's own funds to double the total deployable capital. The resulting EUR 1 billion programme offers discounted impact loan rates to SMEs that can demonstrate leadership on the sustainability transition pathway.
The EUR 250 million EIB loan to Rabobank, combined with Rabobank's matching contribution, will make EUR 500 million available specifically to Dutch small and medium-sized enterprises. The programme sets defined minimum allocation thresholds for this portion of the facility: at least 40 per cent of the Dutch tranche must be directed to climate investments, and at least a further 40 per cent must go to bioeconomy and agriculture-related activities.
The second EUR 250 million EIB loan, directed to DLL, supports a broader geographic remit that covers EU-wide SMEs across nine countries: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Poland, Ireland and the Netherlands. DLL specialises in equipment financing and leasing.