The Junta guarantees the EIB loan to ICECYL with 25 million

Agreement 160/2026, dated November 5, of the Regional Government of Castilla y León, grants a guarantee from the General Administration of the Community to the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castilla y León (ICECYL) as security for a 25 million euro loan signed with the European Investment Bank (EIB). It is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León (BOCYL) no. 216, Monday, November 9, 2026, in section I. Community of Castilla y León, heading D. Other Provisions, at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The agreement was adopted following deliberation by the Government Delegated Commission at its meeting on November 5, 2026.

The contract and the innovative growth plan

On July 7, 2026, ICECYL signed a loan agreement with the EIB for 25,000,000 euros to continue executing the Innovative Growth Plan aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap companies (MIDCAPS) in Castilla y León, initiated in 2017 by the Regional Administration.

This plan, initially endowed with 75 million euros and later expanded to 260 million—provided in full by the EIB—financially supports growth and expansion projects through equity stakes or participating loans, either directly or through the invested company ADE Capital Sodical S.C.R. S.A. The project is referred to as “ICE Focused Support for Smes and Midcaps II” in the heading of the agreement.

The contract between ICECYL and the EIB requires, as a prerequisite and condition prior to the first disbursement of the credit, that the Regional Government of Castilla y León act as a joint and several guarantor for the full compliance of all financial and pecuniary obligations. The institute itself requested the guarantee in those terms.

Conditions of the guarantee and the credit

The agreement details the following conditions:

• Credit: maximum amount of 25,000,000 euros, maximum term of 12 years including a 4-year grace period, with a fixed, revisable, or variable interest rate, or with an option to convert to fixed, applying those in effect at the EIB on the date of each disbursement.
• Purpose: to finance growth and expansion projects in Castilla y León promoted by SMEs and MIDCAPS, either directly or through ADE Capital Sodical S.C.R. S.A.
• Nature of the guarantee: joint and several, with a waiver of the benefits of order, division, and excussion.
• Limit: an exception is made to the 80% principal limit provided for in Article 3 of Decree 24/2010, dated June 10.
• Commission: 0.01% annually on the guaranteed principal.

The Minister of Economy and Finance, Carlos Fernández Carriedo, is authorized to sign the guarantee contract under the terms of the model defined by the EIB. The agreement is signed by the President of the Government’s Delegated Commission, Carlos Pollán Fernández.

Legal coverage and budgetary limits

The operation is supported by articles 200, 202, and 203 of Law 2/2006, of May 3, on the Treasury and Public Sector of the Community, and by Decree 24/2010, of June 10. The Vice-Minister of Economy and Competitiveness, in a report dated September 17, 2026, qualified the action as being of special interest to the Community due to its impact on the business fabric.

Article 28 of Law 5/2024, of May 9, on the General Budgets of the Community for 2024 —extended for 2026 by Decree 23/2025, of December 30— allows guarantees of up to 500,000,000 euros as a maximum global and individual amount. In the 2026 fiscal year, no guarantees had been granted, therefore the operation fits within the enabled limit.

Furthermore, the Council of Ministers, in its Agreement of October 13, 2026, authorized the Community to grant the guarantee in accordance with article 20 of Organic Law 2/2012, of April 27, on Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability.

Relevance

The guarantee commits public funds for the total amount of the loan and not only for the usual 80%, as the Regional Government expressly waives the benefits of order, division, and excussion: if ICECYL does not pay, the regional administration responds directly to the EIB. With this signature, the first disbursement of 25 million is unlocked, which will reach Castilian SMEs and MIDCAPS through ICECYL and ADE Capital Sodical S.C.R. S.A., within a plan that already accumulates 260 million in financing from the European bank.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 216, of November 9, 2026, section I. Community of Castilla y León, D. Other Provisions, pp. 120-123 (official reference: BOCYL-D-09112026-216-18).