EIB and BNP Paribas sign €700 million grid guarantee deal

Sept 29 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank and BNP Paribas have signed an agreement to mobilise €700 million in guarantees for European electricity grid manufacturers, backed by €350 million in counter-guarantees from each party, BNP said on Tuesday.

The deal, supported by the European Union's InvestEU programme, is part of a broader €1.5 billion package to develop and modernise EU energy grids. It follows a separate €1 billion wind energy guarantee portfolio signed by the two institutions in February 2025.

• The €700 million guarantee portfolio is expected to stimulate up to €2.8 billion of investment in the real economy

• The agreement will expand BNP Paribas' capacity to finance manufacturers of electricity grid components as demand rises from the energy transition

• The deal is part of the EIB's Pan-EU Power Grid package, a €1.5 billion initiative to develop, modernise and strengthen EU energy grids

• The EIB Group invested €33 billion in energy projects worldwide in 2025, including €11.6 billion in grids and storage, EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said

• The grid initiative follows €6.5 billion previously made available by the EIB for wind energy

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout. Editing by Mark Potter)