The European Investment Fund (EIF) and Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) have signed a new agreement in Portugal under the European Commission’s COSME programme. The agreement benefits from the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan. Under the agreement signed on 29 May, CGD will be able to launch a new EUR 200 million loan product targeting 5,600 businesses in Portugal. The EIF also signed the first COSME guarantee agreement in Sweden, with Collector Bank. Under the deal, which is part of the “COSME Loan Guarantee Facility”, the EIF will provide a guarantee of SEK 500 million (around EUR 47 million) to allow Collector Bank to issue new loans with more favourable conditions of up to SEK 1 billion (around EUR 94 million). In another Swedish first, DBT Företagslån (“DBT”) became the first Swedish private lender to enter into an agreement with the EIF under the “InnovFin SME Guarantee Facility”. The guarantee agreement will facilitate DBT’s new lending of up to EUR 80 million to SMEs and mid-caps. On 22 May, the European Investment Bank agreed to lend EUR 120 million to Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep (Noordwest). The financing is meant for renovation of a hospital in Den Helder and new construction of a hospital in Alkmaar, with the municipality providing a EUR 40 million guarantee.