Highlights
- The EIB provides a 500 million counter-guarantee enabling Santander to create a portfolio of bank guarantees of up to 1 billion, expected to unlock 8 billion of investment to support wind energy manufacturers in Europe.
- The agreement is part of the EIB's 5 billion wind power package to boost Europe's wind power manufacturing sector and accelerate the energy transition.
- The operation is backed by InvestEU, the EU programme aiming to mobilise investment of more than 372 billion by 2027.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Santander have signed a 500 million counter-guarantee agreement that Santander will use to create a portfolio of bank guarantees of up to 1 billion, expected to unlock 8 billion of investment to support wind energy equipment manufacturing companies in Europe.
The guarantees will back investment by companies manufacturing wind energy and grid interconnection equipment, as well as key components for the wind sector. This will enable the manufacturers to receive advance payments as well as to provide performance guarantees when taking on new wind projects. The guarantees scheme also enables manufacturers to pay their suppliers in advance for the supply of wind farms and the related wind value chain components, which include turbines, grid connection infrastructure, cables and transformer stations.
The leverage effect of the EIB counter-guarantee is expected to mobilise additional funding from other investors to support increasing production and accelerate wind energy development, helping to stimulate investment in the real economy.
The deal forms part of the EIB's 5 billion wind power package launched in 2023, a dedicated package of counter-guarantees to improve access to finance for wind power sector and support increasing newly installed wind energy generation capacity by 32GW. This EIB financing scheme is being activated through agreements with the sector's main lenders like Santander. It is a key component of the European Wind Power Package launched by the European Commission, and is designed to further accelerate a just and swift transition to net zero, while boosting home-grown industrial innovation.
"Wind energy will play a significant role in achieving the EU's renewable-energy target. To unveil its full potential, the EIB together with Santander is putting in place de-risking instruments that will allow manufacturers to overcome some of the challenges impacting the sector such as supply chain disruptions, high costs or intense international competition," said EIB Director of Financial Institutions Gemma Feliciani. "This new framework sponsored by the EIB wind package will accelerate the energy transition in Europe while strengthening its industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy."
Ricardo Gamazo, Santander Global Trade Finance team added: "The program has been very welcome by our clients in the wind equipment industry which face a large backlog of orders to meet the energy transition demand. This in turn creates large guarantee issuance requirements and this extra capacity goes a long way in securing credit lines in the market. We believe this agreement is another decisive step in buttressing energy security for the EU in a sustainable fashion"
Background information
About the EIB
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute towards EU policy goals. EIB projects bolster competitiveness, drive innovation, promote sustainable development, enhance social and territorial cohesion, and support a just and swift transition to climate neutrality.
About Banco Santander
Banco Santander (SAN SM) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. The group's activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This operating model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank's purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. Santander is building a more responsible bank and has made a number of commitments to support this objective, including raising 220 billion in green financing between 2019 and 2030. At the end of 2024, Banco Santander had 1.3 trillion in total funds, 173 million customers, 8,000 branches and 207,000 employees.
