Financing program NBG LRS Enhanced Support for Mid-caps

Businesses that are eligible for financing are Mid-caps operating in Greece that meet the following criteria:

- employ from 250 up to 3,000 staff in terms of annual work units (AWU), as per the latest published financial statements of the business.
- employ fewer than 250 employees with a turnover of over €50 million and assets of over €43 million, as per the European Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC concerning the definition of SMEs.
It should be noted that an enterprise is considered to be any entity engaged in economic activities, irrespective of its legal form. This includes family businesses, cooperatives and associations of persons regularly engaged in economic activities.
In order to determine whether the final beneficiary owner retains the status of Mid-cap, the number of employees of the enterprise is calculated taking into account: (i) its direct employees and (ii) the employees of related enterprises, according to the EU definition of autonomous, partner and linked enterprises.  
The calculation of the number of employees of an enterprise is carried out according to the method used by the European Commission (based on the definition of SMEs that entered into force on 1/1/2005 and Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC).  

In addition, the interested companies should:
- Be established and operating in Greece and the financed business plan should be implemented in Greece or any other EU member state.
- Not have their registered office or be located in a “non-compliant jurisdiction”, as defined below, unless the relevant financed business plan is implemented as a physical object in a Non-Compliant Jurisdiction but does not present a risk of abuse for "Targeted Activities" that cannot be mitigated.  
"Targeted Activities” means: (i) illegal activities such as money laundering, terrorist financing, fiscal offences as defined in the Anti-Money Laundering Directives, and (ii) tax avoidance practices, i.e. wholly artificial arrangements aimed at tax avoidance.
“Non-compliant jurisdiction” is the jurisdiction which: 
a) is included in Annex I of the European Council’s conclusions with regard to the revised EU  list of non-cooperating jurisdictions for tax purposes
b) is included in the list of countries in the jurisdiction of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/G20, which have not satisfactorily implemented tax transparency standards
c) is included in the Annex of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 of 14 July 2016 on "Supplementing Directive 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council which lists high-risk third countries characterized by strategic deficiencies" 
d) is rated as “partially compliant” or “non-compliant”, including relevant temporary assessments by the OECD and the World Forum on Transparency and Information Exchange for Tax Purposes, in line with the international standard on information exchange pursuant to request
e) is included in FATF’s declaration on “Jurisdictions of high risk subject to call for action”, or
f) is included in FATF’s declaration on “Jurisdictions under enhanced monitoring”
as such annexes, lists, declarations, directives etc that define the features thereof may be amended and/or supplemented from time to time.
- Not be involved in excluded activities
- There must be no decision taken by the EIB, in line with the EIB’s Policy of Exclusion (http://www.eib.org/about/accountability/anti-fraud/exclusion/index.htm), to exclude said companies from EIB financing, and no reason suggesting that the companies concerned could, in line with the EIB’s Policy of Exclusion, be excluded from EIB financing.
- Not be involved in illegal activities. 
“Illegal Activity” means any of the following activities or activities carried out for illegal purposes, in accordance with applicable law, in any of the following areas: 
(1) fraud, corruption, coercion, collusion or obstruction;  
(2) money laundering, terrorist financing or fiscal offences, as each of them is defined: a) in Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, as amended by Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018, and as it may be amended, supplemented or restated in the future, and b) in Directive (EU) 2018/1673 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on combating money laundering by criminal law, as amended from time to time, supplemented or restated and in force (hereinafter under a and b, jointly referred to as "Directives on money laundering and terrorist financing"),  
(3) other illegal activities against the financial interests of the European Union, as defined in the ΕU Directive 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2017 on combating, through criminal law, fraud against the financial interests of the Union, as amended from time to time, supplemented or restated and in force.
- Not be a “Sanctioned Person”, as defined below.
“Sanctioned Person” means any person or entity, individual or group of individuals (for the avoidance of doubt, the term “entity” includes any government, group or terrorist organization) that is the subject of Sanctions or against which Sanctions have been imposed (including, without limitation, any sanctions imposed because they are owned or controlled in any way, directly or indirectly, by a person or entity which is the subject of Sanctions or against whom Sanctions have been imposed). The lists of persons subject to EU sanctions are included in the EU sanctions map which is available at www.sanctionsmap.eu. The consolidated list (“EU sanctions list”) is currently available at https://data.europa.eu/euodp/en/data/dataset/consolidated-list-of-persons-groups-and-entities-subject-to-eu-financial-sanctions. 
“Sanctions” are laws, regulations, embargoes or other restrictive measures of economic and financial sanctions (including, without limitation, measures related to terrorist financing) enacted, adopted, implemented and/or enforced from time to time by any of the following:
(a) the United Nations and any organization or person legally designated or authorized by the United Nations to adopt, administer, implement and/or enforce such measures, including, inter alia, the United Nations Security Council, and/or
(b) the European Union and any body or person designated or authorized by the European Union to adopt, administer, implement and/or enforce such measures, including, inter alia, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission and/or
(c) the United States Government and any department, service or office thereof, including the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the US Department of the Treasury, the US Department of State and/or the US Department of Commerce.
(d) the United Kingdom Government and any organization or person legally designated or authorized by the United Kingdom, including, inter alia, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation of His Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for International Trade of the United Kingdom.
- Operate in an eligible activity in line with the codes of economic activity in the European Union (NACE) detailed here. It is noted that the excluded activities include:  a) sports clubs and b) businesses active in the Mass Media.
- With regard to agreements concluded with a financial holding company, a holding company may be eligible provided that:
1) it is a mid-cap active in any of the sectors identified as an eligible activity in the list of NACE codes included here and is the final and sole recipient and beneficiary of the funds made available under the agreement; or
2) irrespective of the NACE code, the company complies with all other relevant Final Recipient Eligibility Criteria and in addition:  
(a) the loan funds under the agreement are fully allocated by the borrower to one or more of its linked or affiliated enterprises (the "Related Enterprises"), and such use/allocation is documented in the agreement and disclosed in the Reports (to the extent that they are not used by the borrower itself in any of its eligible activities).
(b) each of the Related Enterprises is active in any of the specified sectors as eligible in the list of NACE codes as displayed above.
(c) each of the Related Enterprises meets all the Final Recipient Eligibility Criteria;
(d) the Investment Plan financed under the agreement will be implemented by the Related Enterprises as well as by the borrowing enterprise (to the extent that the latter is involved in any eligible sector);
(e) the agreement and the Investment Plan comply with all other Eligibility Criteria of the Program as well,
f) the Investment Plan is evaluated on the basis of the holding company that is also the borrower.
Clarifications for the avoidance of doubt:
(a) any financing to a holding company which is not active in any of the eligible sectors (working capital financing, investment or any other activities of the borrower which is a holding company and is not active in any of the eligible sectors) shall not be eligible.
b) The Related Enterprises may be jointly liable with the holding company under the agreement provided that the holding company of the group bears the principal liability, as principal borrower, for all amounts due under the agreement, in which case the group holding company will be the final Recipient and the principal related counterparty.
(c) The related enterprises (i) are identified as such for eligibility purposes and will not be related to the purpose of the guarantee coverage or any risk related to the assumed risk of this Agreement (e.g. payment orders will not be addressed to the related enterprise).  (ii) may be added to the agreement at any time following its signing, (iii) shall comply with each Final Recipient Eligibility Criterion as applicable at the time of compliance and (iv) at whatever point the Related Enterprise was added to the agreement after the date of its signing, for purposes of assessing the time of compliance with the Eligibility Criteria, the Signature Date shall be deemed to be the date on which the Related Enterprise is added to the agreement.
- Not be subsidiaries of any Financial Institution, in particular:
(a) "subsidiary" means any entity that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under joint control with the Financial Institution; and  
(b) "control" means either the ownership of more than 50% of the share capital or the power to direct the management and policies of an entity, either through the ownership of share capital with voting rights, by virtue of an agreement or in any other way.
- There should be (a) no breach or default on any transaction granted by the Bank or by another financial institution in accordance with controls under the Bank's Credit Policy and (b) there should be no proceedings pending before courts, arbitrators or other authorities/persons between the Bank (or its affiliated company, e.g. its subsidiary) and the borrower in matters relating to any loan or leasing transaction between them.
- The Borrower must not have any overdue debts or be in arrears in relation to any transaction with the Bank or any other financial institution.

By means of the 50% EIB guarantee, the following are achieved:

• Strengthening Mid-caps’ access to bank financing on favorable terms for the implementation of investment projects and the coverage of their working capital needs.
• Mitigating the credit risk of the loan, with a positive effect on required collateral and a more favorable financing rate compared to the interest rate that the Bank would apply to enterprises of the same credit rating to similar financing of the same level of collateral, without the EIB guarantee.

Through the program, an Investment Plan or Business Plan can be financed. 
"Investment Plan" means an investment of fixed and/or intangible new investments and/or expenses made by eligible enterprises, which can be identified in terms of location, planning and benefits, carried out over a period of three (3) years and not completed six (6) months prior to the date of signing the relevant agreement.  
Note that for working capitals, the eligible activity code (NACE Code) is the one defined as the main activity. The main activity corresponds to the activity that contributes most to the total gross value added – as measured by earnings before interest, tax and write-offs – of the contracting party. For reasons of clarity, irrespective of the NACE codes of linked or partner enterprises in the same group of companies, activities of financial holding companies whose sole economic activity is holding and managing portfolios of shares, participations and/or investments in other companies shall not be eligible for EIB support.
“Business Plan” investing in: a) tangible fixed and/or intangible fixed assets, or b) working capital, or c) a combination of a) and b) to be eligible for EIB support, an Investment Plan, if it is part of a larger investment, must be autonomous and technically viable on its own (not dependent on the realization of the rest of the investment).
The Total Cost of the Investment Plan must reflect the cost of each part of the Investment Plan.  If an Investment Plan consists of activities financed by working capital in the form of new financing, the Cost of the Investment Plan will be equal to the amount of financing.  If the Investment Plan includes both fixed assets and working capital, the Investment Plan Cost must be the sum of the cost of both elements.
The "Investment Plan Cost" includes (i) the cost of all investments required to implement the eligible Investment Plan, which are divided into expenses eligible for EIB support (the "Eligible Expenses") and (ii) expenses not eligible for EIB support.  Eligible Expenses represent at least 50% of the amount of the agreement. Eligible Expenses include any of the following categories of expenses:

(a) purchase, renovation or expansion of tangible assets, including development and design costs during the construction phase; purchase of assets other than real property (e.g. construction equipment), for the purposes of renting such to third parties.
(b) investments in intangible assets, namely:  (I) RDI expenses (including up to three-year gross wages directly linked to the company's Research, Development and Innovation, elements of the enterprise's activities and development costs, concessions, patents, licenses, trademarks and similar rights and assets); (Ii) Purchase of software processing licenses and other rights and assets with inherent production potential.
(c) working capital required for the activity of the enterprise, e.g. current assets such as inventories, production in progress and finished products as well as receivables, even when provided by a financial institution in the form of revolving credit. 
The following categories of expenses are not eligible for financing in the context of financing investment plans, but may be included in the total cost of the Investment Plan:
a) purchase of land, unless it is technically essential for the investment
b) purchase of intangible assets, such as licenses to use non-generated public resources (monopoly rights that do not require investment, such as the right to use a broadcasting frequency), patents, trademarks and similar rights and assets including licenses or rights for mineral resource exploitation and production or rights in the agricultural sector
(c) non-recoverable taxes, such as Value Added Tax (VAT);
(d) duties (tax or duty payable on imports or exports);
(e) financing expenses during the construction period;
(f) note that the purchase of second-hand assets is eligible 
The following categories of expenses shall not be eligible for financing under investment plans and shall be excluded from financing:
(a) purchase of land, not technically essential for the investment
(b) purchase of agricultural land.
(c) purchase of goodwill.
as well as recoverable taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT).
Investment Plans should be implemented mainly in Greece, but investments in other EU member states are not excluded (provided that the company is established in Greece).  For the avoidance of doubt, any Investment Plan to be implemented in countries that are not EU Member States are not eligible.  
The financing does not concern High Risk Investment Plans. “High Risk Investment Plan” means a Plan that is likely to have significant environmental, climate and/or social impacts and risks that require an Environmental Impact Assessment Report ("EIA") in accordance with Directive 2011/92/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU (the "EIA Directive").
The Financed Investment Plans (a) are not related to excluded activities as defined above and (b) contribute to at least one of the following EU policy objectives: SMEs/Mid-caps access to finance; Innovation (including Research & Development & Innovation (RDI), Digital and Human Capital (including health and education). Sustainable Cities and Regions (environmental protection, sustainable communities, sustainable transport); Sustainable Energy and Natural Resources. In particular, Investment Plans related to eligible sectors for loans to mid-caps are considered to contribute to one of the aforementioned objectives of the EU policy.
Furthermore, the company's investment plan to be financed should not concern:
- the purchase (or construction or renovation) of property for the purposes of sale or leasing the same to a third party, unless it is related to the construction of social housing, shopping malls and/ or offices for the purposes of leasing the same to third parties (such activities can be financed by exception following pre-approval of the EIB in any case);
- purely financial transactions not related to additional capital expenditure or the company’s business activity (including the trading of listed shares, other securities or any other financial product, the business’s refinancing and other) including change in the ownership structure (e.g. mergers and acquisitions); except in cases of change of generation (e.g. retirement of the previous owner) or staff-related changes of business status, which may be eligible if: a) they enable the company to continue its business activity, b) both parties involved in the sale meet the eligibility criteria and c) the total capital required for the acquisition of the business does not exceed five million Euro (€5 million), excluding own funds;
- investments in the health sector with security units, closed psychiatric and/or correctional centres;
- investments in the health sector that do not respect the common values and fundamental principles of EU health policy (sustainable solutions for society based on scientific evidence and equity of access);
- extraction, processing, transport and storage of coal;
- oil exploration and production, refining, transport, distribution and storage;
- gas exploration and production, liquefaction, regasification, transport, distribution and storage;
- electricity generation exceeding the CO2 emission performance standard (i.e. 250 grams of CO2-equivalent per kWh), applicable to power plants and fossil fuel combined generation, geothermal and hydroelectric installations with large tanks;
- heat production/ combined cooling, heat & power generation and supply (CCHP, CHP), with the exception of:
- heat production using renewable fuels or “eligible combined generation”; Eligible combined generation has the following features: (a) It is based on 100% Renewable Energy (RE), waste of heat or a combination thereof or (b) If based on <100% RES and the remaining part runs on gas (no other fossil fuel is eligible): total efficiency >85% where efficiency is defined as (heat generation + electricity) / Fuel consumption of gas > 85%,
- replacement of existing small and medium gas boilers with a capacity of up to 20 MWth unless it meets the minimum energy efficiency criteria, defined as A rated boilers in the EU (applicable to <400kWth) or boilers with efficiency > 90%;
- restoration or expansion of existing district heating networks, which is eligible if CO2 emissions do not increase as a result of burning coal, peat, oil, gas or inorganic waste on an annual basis;
- new district heating networks or significant extensions of existing district heating networks, which are eligible if the network uses renewable energy sources at least by 50% or waste heat by 50% or heat cogeneration by 75% or CHP by 50%;
- construction of new buildings and significant restoration of existing buildings (more than 25% of the surface or 25% of the value of the building excluding land), which do not comply with the national energy standards set out in Directive (EU) 2018/844 on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD).
- businesses with political or religious content;
- desalination activities;
For the avoidance of doubt, the above conditions for heating/cooling of production units also apply to agricultural and industrial buildings, e.g. floral industry facilities. In particular, new installations are eligible for EIB financing only if the relevant electrical energy/heat/cooling production system complies with the above energy efficiency criteria. By contrast, financing for working capital, R&D and equipment other than the electrical power/heat/cooling system used in existing installations is eligible irrespective of the energy efficiency of the existing electricity/heat/cooling systems provided that the project in question fulfils all the other requirements of the Program. Energy efficiency criteria do not apply to heat from industrial process.
For Investment Plans related to energy/ heat generation using biomass, the following sustainability conditions for biomass products should be fulfilled:
- raw materials should come from non-contaminated biofuels within the EU or be certified for sustainability when originating from outside the EU, and must not come from food and feed crops.
- forest raw materials should be certified in line with international standards of sustainable forest certification.
- the use of palm oil products or raw materials from tropical forests/ protected areas is prohibited. Protected habitats include Natura 2000 sites as designated under EU law, habitats recognized under the Ramsar, Bern (Emerald Network) and Bonn Conventions, as well as areas defined or designated as protected areas by national governments.
Regarding the financing of business and investment projects concerning: a) acquisition of vehicles, b) defence sector, c) public order and security, d) social housing for rent  and e) the health sector, the special eligibility criteria are detailed here.  

(1) Investment plans related to the restriction of individual rights and freedom or the violation of human rights, such as:
- prisons, detention centres of any kind (correctional facilities or police stations with detention facilities),

- activities related to direct or indirect forms of forced labour or child labour as defined by the International Labour Organization

(2) Activities that are not acceptable under climatic or environmental conditions:  
- any activity involving the degradation, alteration or destruction of critical habitats or forests, 
- conversion of natural forest into plantation, This includes irrigated forests, logging, clear felling or degradation (and commercial concessions) of tropical natural forests or forests of high conservation value in all areas, as well as the purchase of logging equipment for this purpose;
- unsustainable fishing methods (such as drift fishing in the marine environment, using nets longer than 2.5 km and sandblasting).
- underwater extraction of mineral deposits, extraction or mining of minerals and metals covered by Regulation (EU) 2017/821),  

(3) Activities prohibited by national legislation or international agreements ratified by the EU:
- products or activities subject to international phasing out or prohibition, including the production or trade of products containing PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls), production, placement in the market and use of asbestos fibres, production, use or trading of ozone-depleting substances and other substances subject to international phasing out or prohibition, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides/herbicides, chemicals and other hazardous substances, trade of mercury, mercury compounds and a wide range of added mercury products, production or use of, or trade of, persistent organic pollutants, production or trade of wildlife or wildlife products regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), cross-border movement of waste prohibited under public international law;
- activities prohibited by national legislation or international legal acts ratified by the EU, relating to the protection of biodiversity resources or cultural heritage, and
- any activities related to the deliberate release of Genetically Modified Organisms.

(4) Activities that may be considered ethically or morally controversial:  research on human cloning, animal testing (in accordance with Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2010 on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes), sexual trafficking and related infrastructure, services and media, production, processing,  promotion or specialised distribution or facilitation of the use of tobacco, the production or trade of arms, ammunition, explosives, equipment or infrastructure specially designed for military use.
Furthermore and irrespective of the main activity of the enterprise, any revenues of the enterprise receiving the financing generated by activities targeting the production or facilitating the use of gambling and related equipment should not exceed more than 10% of the annual revenues of said enterprise.

• The maximum amount of the loan, which finances only eligible expenses, can reach up to €20 million per individual or "single" business, with a maximum working capital budget of €20 million or a maximum total budget of €50 million for the investment plan.   
• The purpose of the financing concerns: i) investments in tangible or intangible assets through amortization or bond loans, (ii) working capital of a more permanent nature through amortization or bond loans and (iii) revolving working capital through a credit agreement through an open current account, with annual renewal and with a predetermined maximum maturity in full years (e.g. 4 years or maximum 5 years). 
• The minimum loan term shall not be less than one (1) year for revolving loans and two (2) years for fixed-term loans and shall not exceed the economic and technical life of the investment being financed.
• The first disbursement (partial or lump sum) must have been effected within a calendar quarter as of the execution date of the loan, while all disbursements must have been completed by the end of the grace period.
• The loan shall be repaid through equal or non-equal monthly, 3-month, or 6-month amortization instalments, with the option of a balloon instalment (payment at maturity) and a grace period of up to six months for working capital loans and of up to two years for investment loans.
• Interest rate: The interest rate is calculated on the basis of the 1M, 3M or 6M Euribor (a zero rate shall apply in the event of a negative rate), plus interest margin and the levy under Law 128/75 applicable from time to time.
• Frequency at which interest is posted: Interest is posted on 30/06 and 31/12 of each year.
• Deadline for the completion of the program:  The program shall be available (including the conclusion of the agreements) through to 23 May 2026.