Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme

Eligibility Criteria

These criteria as set out by the SBCI must be complied with under Scheme rules

“Borrower Eligibility Criteria” means that the Borrower under the Borrower Transaction covered by a Financing:

Criteria
(a) shall be established in Ireland, or if the Borrower is established in a member state of the EU other than Ireland, it shall have a branch in Ireland;
(b) shall be economically viable (which determination shall be made by the relevant Finance Provider in accordance with its Credit and Collection Policies);
(c) shall not (i) be active in and/or engage in one or more of the Illegal Economic Activities, and (ii) have a substantial focus on one or more of the Restricted Sectors other than the Illegal Economic Activities (which determination shall be made by the Finance Provider in its discretion based, without limitation, on the proportionate importance of such sector on revenues, turnover or client base of the relevant Borrower);
(d) is not a Sanctioned Person and is not in breach of Restrictive Measures;
(e) is established or incorporated in a country listed for HPTR in Annex I and/or Annex II of the European Council conclusions on the revised EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, the Borrower does not benefit from any HPTR as evidenced by a self-declaration of the Borrower provided in a written form to the Finance Provider;
(f) shall not be engaged in any Illegal Activities or Illegal Economic Activities;
(g) shall not be incorporated or established in a Non-Compliant Jurisdiction, unless in case of NCJ Implementation;
(h) is not, to the best of its knowledge, in an Exclusion Situation; and
(i) for Borrower Transactions whose purpose shall be any investment in compliance with the Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability Eligibility Criteria as set out in the Use Case Document, the Borrower shall comply with the relevant eligibility criteria set out in the Use Case Document.

“Additional Borrower Eligibility Criteria” means that the Borrower under the Borrower Transaction covered by a Financing:

Criteria
(a) has been deemed eligible to apply to a participating finance provider for finance under the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme by the SBCI and the Borrower has been issued with a unique eligibility code which is verified by the Finance Provider; and
(b) has completed a standard application form provided by AIB which is in form and content satisfactory to the SBCI.

“Borrower Transaction Eligibility Criteria” means the following criteria:

Criteria
(a) the Borrower Transaction shall be newly originated;
(b) the Borrower Transaction shall not be in the form of a refinancing (i.e. replacing existing indebtedness);
(c) the Borrower Transaction shall be entered into by the Finance Provider during the Inclusion Period;
(d) the Borrower Transaction shall not be in the form of an overdraft, a credit line, a revolving loan, equity, a mezzanine loan or mezzanine bond, a subordinated debt transaction or a quasi-equity transaction;
(e) the purpose of the Borrower Transaction shall be: (i) any investment, allowing for the growth and resilience of the Borrower, including but not limited to investments in process and organisational innovation. Such determination shall be performed by the Finance Provider as part of its approval process, in accordance with its Credit and Collection Policies; (ii) any investment in compliance with the Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability Eligibility Criteria as set out in the Use Case Document;
(f) the financing made available under the Borrower Transaction shall not be provided for the purpose of: (i) financing pure real estate development activity i.e., financing of land, including agricultural land and an activity with a sole purpose of renovating and re-leasing or re-selling existing buildings, as well as building new projects as for example: buying land and/or building real estate with the aim to increase the value of the property. However, buying or renting of land or buildings or facilities ancillary or instrumental to eligible business activities may be considered eligible; or (ii) financing of activities constituting pure financial transactions (e.g. purchase of shares) i.e. the use of the financing received under the scheme for the mere purchase of financial instruments, with the exception of eligible business transfers;
(g) the investments supported by the financing provided under the Borrower Transaction shall be located in Ireland;
(h) the Borrower Transaction’s committed principal amount shall not be less than the Minimum Borrower Transaction Committed Amount;
(i) the Borrower Transaction shall have a fixed repayment schedule;
(j) Borrower Transactions with a “bullet repayment profile” (defined as a repayment profile whereby the entire principal amount of the Borrower Transaction is to be paid at maturity) shall not be eligible for inclusion;
(k) the Borrower Transaction’s maturity shall not be shorter than the Minimum Borrower Transaction Maturity; i.e. 7 years;
(l) the Borrower Transaction’s maturity shall not exceed the Maximum Borrower Transaction Maturity other than in case of a Permitted Amendment;
(m) the committed principal amount of a Borrower Transaction shall not be less than EUR 25,000 or greater than EUR 3,000,000;
(n) the Borrower Transaction shall be denominated in EUR;
(0) the Borrower Transaction Agreement (Loan Agreement) is valid, binding and enforceable under applicable law;
(p) Borrower Transactions whose purpose shall be any investment in compliance with the Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability Eligibility Criteria as set out in the Use Case Document shall comply with the relevant eligibility criteria set out in the Use Case Document;
(q) the Borrower Transaction shall not finance transactions (i) with a Sanctioned Person; or (ii) that are in breach of any Restrictive Measures;
(r) the Borrower Transaction shall not finance Illegal Activities, Illegal Economic Activities or artificial arrangements aimed at tax avoidance;
(s) if the Borrower Transaction is granted/issued to a Borrower with the specific purpose of financing the acquisition of a vehicle for the purpose of transport¹, the Borrower Transaction shall not finance any Restricted Asset²;
(t) for Borrower Transactions granted/issued with the specific purpose of financing the construction of new buildings and major rehabilitation of existing buildings (i.e exceeding 25% of the surface area or 25% of the building value excluding land) any such construction of new buildings and major rehabilitation of existing buildings shall comply with national energy standards defined by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD, 2018/844/EU);
(u) for Borrower Transactions granted/issued with the specific purpose of financing the heating and/or cooling (including Combined Cooling/Heat and Power production (CCHP, CHP)) of buildings shall finance any of the following: (i) Investments involving heat production using renewable fuels or "eligible cogeneration", where "eligible cogeneration" is defined as: (1) based on 100% renewable energy, waste heat or a combination thereof; or (2) if based on <100% renewable energy and the remaining part is gas-fired (no other fossil fuel is eligible): overall efficiency shall exceed 85% where efficiency is calculated as: (Heat + Electricity production) divided by Gas fuel consumption; (ii) investments involving small and medium-sized natural gas boilers with a capacity of up to 20 MWth meeting the minimum energy efficiency criteria, defined as A-rated boilers in the EU (applicable to <400kWth) or boilers with efficiencies of >90%; (iii) investments involving the rehabilitation or extension of existing district heating networks if there is no increase in CO2 emissions as a result of the combustion of coal, peat, oil, gas or non-organic waste on an annual basis; and/or (iv) investments involving new district heating networks or substantial extensions of existing district heating networks if the network uses at least 50% renewable energy or 50% waste heat or 75% cogenerated heat, or 50% of a combination of such energy and heat;
(v) for Borrower Transactions granted/issued with the specific purpose of financing investments in power and/or heat production, using biomass, the following biomass sustainability conditions shall be met: (i) feedstock shall be from non-contaminated biomass or biogenic waste inside the EU, or certified for sustainability when sourced from outside the EU, and shall not consist of food and feed crops; (ii) forest feedstock must be certified according to international sustainable forest certification standards; (iii) no palm oil products or raw material from tropical forest and/or protected sites shall be used;
(w) Borrower Transactions shall not have the purpose of financing desalination projects;
(x) Borrower Transactions shall not have the purpose of financing the activities corresponding to the sectors set out in paragraphs 7 and 8 of Schedule 9 (Restricted Sectors). For Borrower Transactions not having been granted/issued for a specific purpose (e.g. working capital facilities), the Borrower entering into such Borrower Transaction shall not be active in the sectors set out in paragraphs 7 and 8 of Schedule 9 (Restricted Sectors);
(y) Borrower Transactions entered into with Borrowers to which the Finance Provider has assigned a Moody's equivalent rating (as determined by the Finance Provider in accordance with its Credit and Collection Policies) worse than "B3" shall not be eligible for inclusion in the Portfolio;
(z) If a Borrower Transaction provides for a principal amount of less than or equal to €500,000, such Borrower Transaction shall be: (i) unsecured; or (ii) secured only by all sums due security granted by the relevant Borrower to the Finance Provider as a condition to the advance of funds under a finance agreement other than the Borrower Transaction in question, (and for the avoidance of any doubt, if such Borrower Transaction provides for a principal amount greater than €500,000, it may be unsecured, secured or partially secured, at the discretion of the Finance Provider, and where secured or partially secured, may be so secured by such security interest as the Finance Provider may require, whether or not entered into for the purposes of that Borrower Transaction);
(aa) if a Borrower Transaction provides for a principal amount less than or equal to €500,000, it shall not the subject of any personal guarantee; and
(bb) if a Borrower Transaction provides for a principal amount greater than €500,000, it may be the subject of a personal guarantee if the guarantee is required to support the provision of security for such principal amount or if the guarantee is unsecured and is limited to 20% (twenty per cent) of the principal amount under such Borrower Transaction.
(cc) the financing made available under a Borrower Transaction may not be made available on condition that a Borrower avails of another product or service offered by the Finance Provider or an Affiliate.

¹For the avoidance of doubt, mobile assets not acquired for the purpose of transport are not covered by these restrictions. These are, for instance, machinery for construction works, agriculture/forestry mobile assets, etc.

²For the purpose of compliance with this eligibility criterion the Finance Provider may rely on representations or undertakings from the Borrower in the documentation governing the Borrower Transaction.

Excluded Sectors

Part A

The following sectors (as identified by NACE Code) are excluded from the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme:

AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHING
011500	Growing of tobacco
MINING & QUARRYING
50000	Mining of coal and lignite
51000	Mining of hard coal
52000	Mining of lignite
60000	Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas
61000	Extraction of crude petroleum
62000	Extraction of natural gas
62010	Natural gas liquefaction
62030	Regasification of natural gas
63000	Compound derivatives from waste recycling (for energy use)
70000	Mining of metal ores
71000	Mining of iron ores
72000	Mining of non-ferrous metal ores
72100	Mining of uranium and thorium ores
72900	Mining of other non-ferrous metal ores
80000	Other mining and quarrying
81000	Quarrying of stone, sand and clay
81100	Quarrying of ornamental and building stone, limestone, gypsum, chalk and slate
81200	Operation of gravel and sand pits; mining of clays and kaolin
89000	Mining and quarrying n.e.c
89100	Mining of chemical and fertiliser minerals
89200	Extraction of peat
89300	Extraction of salt
89900	Other mining and quarrying n.e.c
90000	Mining support service activities
91000	Support activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction
99000	Support activities for other mining and quarrying
MANUFACTURING
120000	Manufacture of tobacco products
142000	Manufacture of articles of fur
190000	Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products
191000	Manufacture of coke oven products
192000	Manufacture of refined petroleum products
201300	Manufacture of other inorganic basic chemicals
201400	Manufacture of other organic basic chemicals
201500	Manufacture of fertilisers and nitrogen compounds
201600	Manufacture of plastics in primary forms
205100	Manufacture of explosives
235100	Manufacture of cement
241000	Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys
242000	Manufacture of tubes, pipes, hollow profiles and related fittings, of steel
243100	Cold drawing of bars
243200	Cold rolling of narrow strip
243300	Cold forming or folding
243400	Cold drawing of wire
244200	Aluminium production
244600	Processing of nuclear fuel
244610	Uranium enrichment
244620	Irradiated fuel reprocessing
254000	Manufacture of weapons and ammunition
304000	Manufacture of military fighting vehicles
ELECTRICITY, GAS, STEAM AND AIR CONDITIONING SUPPLY
351140	nuclear energy
351141	pilot plants
351142	demonstration plants
351143	commercially rated power stations
CONSTRUCTION
410000	Construction of buildings
411000	Development of building projects
412000	Construction of residential and non-residential buildings
412010	urban infrastructure
412011	urban renewal
412012	public buildings
412013	exhibitions, trade fairs and conferences
412014	housing
412020	urban development schemes
412021	sundry infrastructure
412022	development of industrial estates
412023	composite infrastructure
429010	industrial estates and buildings (turnkey factories)
431200	Site preparation
REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES
680000	Real estate activities
681000	Buying and selling of own real estate
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE; REPAIR OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND MOTORCYCLES
463000	Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
463500	Wholesale of tobacco products
472600	Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores
TRANSPORTATION AND STORAGE
522210	sea port installations/river development works
522220	acquisition of vessels
522240	Acquisition of fishing boats
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE; COMPULSORY SOCIAL SECURITY
840000	Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
841000	Administration of the State and the economic and social policy of the community
841100	General public administration activities
841200	Regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security
841300	Regulation of and contribution to more efficient operation of businesses
842000	Provision of services to the community as a whole
842100	Foreign affairs
842200	Defence activities
842300	Justice and judicial activities
842400	Public order and safety activities
842500	Fire service activities
843000	Compulsory social security activities
ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND RECREATION
920000	Gambling and betting activities
FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES
641100	Central banking
641900	Other monetary intermediation
641910	banks
641920	mutual banks or credit cooperatives
641930	savings banks
641940	Development Banks and Financing Institutions
641941	Development Banks and Financing Institutions Multilateral
641941	Development Banks and Financing Institutions Multilateral - International
641941	Development Banks and Financing Institutions Multilateral - Regional
ACTIVITIES OF HOUSEHOLDS AS EMPLOYERS
970000	Activities of households as employers of domestic personnel
980000	Undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of private households for own use
981000	Undifferentiated goods-producing activities of private households for own use
982000	Undifferentiated service-producing activities of private households for own use
990000	Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies

Annex 1

Restricted Assets

1. Passenger cars primarily used for commercial purposes	for which the corresponding CO2 emission thresholds exceed 115g CO2/km according to the Worldwide Light duty vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) on a per vehicle basis. test test
2. Vans/ Light Commercial Vehicles	for which the corresponding CO2 emission thresholds exceed 182g CO2/km according to the Worldwide Light duty vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) on a per vehicle basis.
3. Trucks/ Heavy duty vehicles (HDVs)³	Axle and chassis configuration⁴	Vehicle subgroup⁵	Reference value above gCO2 / t-km
	Rigid, 4x2, GVW > 16t	4-UD	307.23
		4-RD	197.16
		4-LH	105.96
	Tractor, 4x2, GVW > 16t	5-RD	84
		5-LH	56.6
	Rigid, 6x2	9-RD	110.98
		9-LH	65.16
	Tractor, 6x2	10-RD	83.26
		10-LH	58.26
	trucks (including, without limitation, trucks that are part of a heavy-duty vehicle sub-group), other than those that meet (i) “EURO VI” standards or higher and are not covered by any of the 4 axle chassis configuration groups outlined in the table directly above or (ii) in case of waste collection trucks, “EURO V” standards or higher. vehicles dedicated to transport fossil fuels or fossil fuels blended with alternative fuels
4. L-category vehicles (2- and 3-wheel vehicles and quadricycles)	Any such vehicle other than zero direct emissions vehicles.
5. Public transport: Trams, metros & buses (urban and interurban)	for which direct emissions exceed 50g CO2equivalent per passenger-km (gCO2e/pkm)
6. Trains	passenger trains for which direct emissions exceed 50 gCO2equivalent per passenger-km (gCO2e/pkm). freight trains for which direct emissions exceed 28.3 gCO2equivalent per tonne-km (gCO2e/tkm) vehicles dedicated to transport of fossil fuels or fossil fuels blended with alternative fuels
7. Inland water way vessels	passenger vessels for which direct emissions exceed 50 gCO2equivalent per passenger-km (gCO2e/pkm) freight vessels for which direct emissions exceed 28.3 gCO2equivalent per tonne-km (gCO2e/tkm) vessels dedicated to transport fossil fuels or fossil fuels blended with alternative fuels
8. Maritime vessels	Maritime vessels dedicated to transport fossil fuels or fossil fuels blended with alternative fuels

³Trucks are divided within Regulation 2019/1242 into 18 different vehicle groups; CO2 emission standards cover only some large truck categories: 4, 5, 9 & 10

⁴GVW - Gross Vehicle Weight

⁵UD = Urban delivery, RD = Regional delivery and LH = Long Haul

Annex 2

Restricted Sectors

1. Illegal Economic Activities

Any production, trade or other activity, which is illegal under the laws or regulations of the home jurisdiction for such production, trade or activity (“Illegal Economic Activity”).
Human cloning for reproduction purposes is considered an Illegal Economic Activity.

2. Tobacco and Distilled Alcoholic Beverages

The production of and trade in tobacco and distilled alcoholic beverages and related products.

3. Production of and Trade in Weapons and Ammunition

The financing of the production of and trade in weapons and ammunition of any kind. This restriction does not apply to the extent such activities are part of or accessory to explicit European Union policies.

4. Casinos

Casinos and equivalent enterprises.

5. IT Sector Restrictions

Research, development or technical applications relating to electronic data programs or solutions, which:

(i) aim specifically at:

(a) supporting any activity included in the Restricted Sectors referred to under 1. to 4. (inclusive) above.

(b) internet gambling and online casinos; or

or which:

(ii) are intended to enable to illegally:

(a) enter into electronic data networks; or

(b) download electronic data.

6. Life Science Sector Restrictions

When providing support to the financing of the research, development or technical applications relating to:

(i) human cloning for research or therapeutic purposes; and

(ii) Genetically Modified Organisms.

7. Fossil fuel-based energy production and related activities

Coal mining, processing, transport and storage;
Oil exploration & production, refining, transport, distribution and storage;
Natural gas exploration & production, liquefaction, regasification, transport, distribution and storage; or
Electric power generation exceeding the Emissions Performance Standard (i.e. 250 grams of CO2e per kWh of electricity), applicable to fossil fuel-fired power and cogeneration plants, geothermal and hydropower plants with large reservoirs.

8. Energy-intensive and/or high CO2-emitting industries and sectors (NACE nomenclature, 4 digits)

Manufacture of other organic basic chemicals (NACE 20.14);
Manufacture of other inorganic basic chemicals (NACE 20.13);
Manufacture of fertilisers and nitrogen compounds (NACE 20.15);
Manufacture of plastics in primary forms (NACE 20.16);
Manufacture of cement (NACE 23.51);
Manufacture of basic iron and steel and ferro-alloys (NACE 24.10);
Manufacture of tubes, pipes, hollow profiles and related fittings, of steel (NACE 24.20);
Cold drawing of bars (NACE 24.31);
Cold rolling of narrow strip (NACE 24.32);
Cold forming or folding (NACE 24.33);
Cold drawing of wire (NACE 24.34);
Aluminium production (NACE 24.42);
Manufacture of conventionally fuelled aircraft and related machinery (sub-activities contained within NACE 30.30 activity “Manufacture of air- and spacecraft and related machinery”);
Conventionally fuelled passenger air transport (sub-activities of NACE 51.10);
Conventionally fuelled freight air transport (sub-activities of NACE 51.21);
Service activities incidental to conventionally fuelled air transportation. (sub-activities of NACE 52.23).