Market updates and sector developments

The EIB Group and Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) have invested in senior and mezzanine tranches of ABS issued by BBVA to support Spanish SMEs and mid-caps by addressing their working capital and liquidity requirements. Proceeds worth €60m will also be channelled into energy efficiency projects.

Under the transaction, the EIB makes an investment commitment of €430m, while €30m is committed by the EIF. ICO’s participation accounts for €100m. The total investments of the deal will enable the Spanish bank to direct up to €1.26bn into the economy.

The transaction aims to address the investment challenges of SMEs and mid-caps in cohesion regions, where accessing financing has become difficult following the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures and rising interest rates. The investment thus aligns with EIB's goal of promoting equitable growth and convergence among EU regions.

The green projects financed by this operation will contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and climate change mitigation. As such, the investment is aligned with the EIB Group's climate change mitigation objectives and REPowerEU.

In other news…

ASR completes Aegon Nederland acquisition
Dutch insurance company ASR Nederland has completed the acquisition of Aegon Nederland after receiving approval from the Consumer & Market Authority, the Dutch Central Bank and the ECB. Aegon will receive €2.2bn in cash and a 29.99% equity stake in ASR - which has a €6.2bn market cap, as of 5 July - as part of the transaction. The deal sees ASR acquire the entirety of Aegon’s Dutch insurance, pensions, mortgages, distribution and services businesses, as well as its banking operations.

ILS distribution agreement inked
Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) has joined forces with Securis to boost their respective strategies in the ILS space. The freshly signed distribution agreement will allow UBP to provide institutional clients and third-party distributors across Europe, the Middle East and Asia with Securis’ global capabilities. The partnership intends to provide mutual benefit to both UBP and Securis in their ILS endeavours by leveraging Securis’ resources and infrastructure with UBP’s global fund distribution capabilities.