The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Byggdastofnun, the Icelandic Regional Development Institute, are launching a new ten-year loan facility totalling EUR 12 million for onlending to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas of Iceland. The financing will be used for R&D, the acquisition of tangible capital such as machinery and equipment, ICT, investments in tourism infrastructure, small industry, fishing vessels and farming in the areas other than the capital region in Iceland. “The SME sector employs a vast majority of the economically active population in NIB’s member countries. We hope that the new loan facility will support regional development in various parts of Iceland, which is in line with the missions of both Byggdastofnun and NIB”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.
Since 1988, NIB has placed thirteen loan programmes with Byggdastofnun with a combined total of approximately EUR 135 million.
The Icelandic Regional Development Institute, Byggdastofnun, is a state development agency founded with the purpose of fostering regional development in Iceland. Currently, Byggdastofnun has 350 customers in tourism (30% of customers), the fishing industry (22%), general industry (18%) and agriculture (11%).
NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.