Bank of Valletta, one of Malta’s mainstream banks, has recently announced its collaboration with the European Investment Fund (EIF) to help local small and medium sized enterprises access funding. The EIF is authorised by the European Commission to administer the Joint European Resources for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (known as JEREMIE) for the EU’s member states which provides SMEs access to credit at favourable interests rates and low collateral requirements.
The funds funnelled through the EIF with the collaboration of representatives of each Member State are deducted from each member states’ portion of the European Union Structural Funds. These funds are provided to SMEs, which are not excluded on the basis of the activities which they perform, by means of equity, loans or guarantees, or the activity of a fund. The Bank of Valletta has undertaken to support the available funds with €51m over a three year period.
Bank of Valletta has been complemented by the EIF for the positive results registered by JEREMIE in Malta, pointing out that the Malta application of the scheme could serve ‘as a test case for other member states.’
