Triodos Bank will start offering film financing in Germany to support companies in the arts and culture sector through a guarantee agreement with the European Investment Fund (EIF).
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The initial focus will be on providing interim financing for film grants and commissioned productions.
The new team headed by Björn Schümann, who recently joined Triodos Bank for this very purpose and has many years of experience in this area, will work from Hamburg to serve clients across the arts and culture scene in Germany. The first film project financing agreements have already been successfully concluded.
According to Schümann, “Art and culture is a very important area for Triodos Bank, which has been financing international film productions for a long time.
"It is particularly important for us to support cultural professionals and a diverse cultural offer in these times. We are therefore pleased to be able to offer such financing in Germany as well, especially as others are pulling out of the market. The exclusive cooperation with the European Investment Fund and the guarantee agreement give us additional room for manoeuvre.â€
Triodos Bank and the EIF signed a guarantee agreement in the form of a Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility (CCS GF) during the summer.
Triodos Bank to extend support for cultural and creative sectors with EU backing (eif.org)
This will make it easier for Triodos Bank to grant loans of up to €200 million in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Germany over the next two years, with less capital required from entrepreneurs in the creative and cultural sectors.
The Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility is managed by the EIF on behalf of the European Commission and is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
It was launched in June 2016 under the Creative Europe programme (2014-2020). The facility benefits micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the cultural and creative sectors, which often struggle to obtain debt financing for their projects.
In Germany, Triodos Bank will focus on film financing.
Christina Schmidt, Head of Business Banking Triodos Bank Germany, said: “Triodos Bank already finances arts and culture. Artists and culture professionals make an important contribution to society by connecting ideas and people, and by stimulating, promoting and reflecting positive change.
"At the Triodos Group, we have extensive experience in financing cultural entrepreneurship. The partnership with the EIF will enable us to financially support filmmakers who would otherwise struggle to get regular bank loans. The Cultural and Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility provides a major incentive for them, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic has put the cultural sector under immense pressure.â€
EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard said: “The cultural and creative sectors remain under enormous pressure in all EU countries due to COVID restrictions. The availability and affordability of financing will play a major role in helping these sectors get through the crisis and back on a path of sustainable growth.
"The EIF is pleased to be working with Triodos Bank, with the support of the European Commission, to help bring this much-needed EU financing to the companies that really need it.†■