White & Case advises EIF on synthetic securitisation between Bigbank and EIB Group

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised the European Investment Fund (EIF) on a synthetic securitisation of a reference portfolio of more than €210 million, consisting of loans, credit lines and leases originated by Bigbank.

The EIF guarantee provides credit risk protection on the senior tranche of €184.3 million and the mezzanine tranche of €23.1 million. Its exposure to the mezzanine tranche, as well as part of its exposure to the senior tranche, is counter-guaranteed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The transaction will boost financing for SMEs across the Baltics, enabling Bigbank to provide more than €250 million in new lending to small- and mid-caps in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with a particular focus on micro-enterprises, young companies and environmentally sustainable investments.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction included partners Dennis Heuer (Frankfurt), Ingrid York (London) and Arnaud Cagi-Nicolau (Luxembourg) and associates Bernhard Gaertner (Frankfurt) and Konstantinos Strakas (Luxembourg).

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