NIB and Iceland’s Landsbankinn start new SME facility

NIB and Iceland’s Landsbankinn hf. have signed a new seven-year loan programme totalling USD 75 million (EUR 66.5 million) for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and environmental projects in Iceland.

The seven-year loan programme will finance SMEs in various sectors, for instance, the fishing industry, real estate and tourism. Individual allocations of the funds in the facility will be selected on the basis of how well they conform to NIB’s mission to improve the competitiveness and environment of the Bank’s member countries.

This is the second loan programme NIB has provided to Landsbankinn. The funds of the first facility, agreed in 2015, have been allocated in line with NIB’s mandate.

“Our cooperation with Landsbankinn in reaching Icelandic SMEs has proved very successful, and we are happy to continue our joint effort in a new programme”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.

“The loan programme from NIB strengthens and further diversifies the foreign currency funding of Landsbankinn. It is further testament to the increased confidence foreign debt investors have in Landsbankinn. Our collaboration with NIB has proven very successful and will continue to benefit our customers as well as support the bank´s policy on corporate social responsibility”, says Lilja Björk Einarsdóttir, CEO of Landsbankinn.

Landsbankinn hf. is the largest universal bank in Iceland. The Bank was established in 2008 and is majority-owned by the National Treasury of Iceland.

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.

For further information, please contact

Ms Sari Cabell, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0519,

Ms Lisa-Maria Altenberger, Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0234,