Growth & Sustainability Loan Scheme in Ireland

The Growth & Sustainability Loan Scheme (GSLS) features a national counter-guarantee facility launched in 2022 by the Government of Ireland targeting SMEs, Small Mid-Caps, farmers, and fishers with the objective to bridge the gap in longer-term, affordable finance that many enterprises face in Ireland. The European Investment Fund has been entrusted as the body implementing the financial instrument, which provides a counter-guarantee to the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) – the national promotional bank of Ireland acting as financial intermediary. SBCI, in turn, guarantees five on-lenders , selected via an open call for expression of interest.

Alongside the Irish Government as junior/first loss risk taker (with just over EUR 73 million contribution from the national budget), the EIB Group covers the more senior risk tranches of the portfolio counter-guarantee for a total exposure of almost EUR 250 million. Combined with commercial bank financing, the scheme will make a total of EUR 500 million available to eligible Irish businesses, with a specific target of at least 30% for investments in climate action and environmental sustainability.

Enterprises can benefit from a 64% guarantee coverage on loans of up to EUR 500 000 with between 7 and 10 year maturity, preferential interest rates, and no collateral requirements. Loans can be provided for two primary purposes: 1) fostering enterprise growth and resilience, and 2) promoting climate action and environmental sustainability.

An unique feature of the scheme is an online SBCI Hub IT application, which integrates the EIB’s Green Eligibility Checker tool. This integration was supported by EIB Advisory Services, with funding from the InvestEU Advisory Hub.