Triodos Bank Extends Support for Cultural and Creative Sectors with EU Backing

Triodos Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF) have signed a guarantee agreement for the creative and cultural sector under the European Union’s “Cultural and Creative Sectors” guarantee facility, backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. The guarantee facility allows Triodos Bank to provide up to EUR 200 million in loans to entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural sectors over the next two years in the EU Member States where Triodos operates, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany. The geographical split will depend on demand from markets.

Pauline Bieringa, Managing Director of Triodos Bank in The Netherlands, stated: “Triodos Bank already finances arts and culture because they contribute to society by connecting ideas and people, and reflecting, stimulating and encouraging positive change. We have extensive experience in financing cultural entrepreneurship, museums, theaters, and cultural hubs, among other things. The partnership with EIF allows us to financially support those creative and cultural initiatives that would normally have difficulty accessing regular bank credit facilities. This guarantee facility is an important incentive, especially now that the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns have put the cultural sector under immense pressure.”

European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Culture and creators need our support in the COVID-19 crisis. Today’s agreement with Triodos Bank and the European Investment Fund (EIF), supported by EFSI under the EU Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility, will unlock up to 200 million in loans to culture and creative businesses in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. It will help their recovery so that they continue contributing to Europe’s rich cultural landscape.”

“The cultural and creative sectors are still under huge pressure due to COVID-restrictions in all EU-countries,” says Alain Godard, Chief Executive at the European Investment Fund. “To come out of the crisis and restart sustainable growth for these sectors, availability and affordability of financing will play a big role. The EIF is glad to partner with Triodos to help channel this much needed European financing to those companies that need it.”

The goal of the transaction is to give the often very small cultural and creative businesses, active in some of the most impacted sectors in the economy, access to financing in order to find a path out of the crisis towards sustainable growth. Companies interested in financing can get in touch with their local Triodos contact for more information.