Italy, Dec. 22 -- The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Intesa Sanpaolo have finalised two new agreements totalling €700 million to back access to finance and investment by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in Italy. The two operations - announced by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and Intesa Sanpaolo's Head of Domestic Commercial Banking Stefano Barrese - will help support around 1 000 Italian businesses, mobilising over €1.9 billion in investment in the real economy. The first operation concerns the EIB's purchase of a €500 million covered bond issued by Intesa Sanpaolo. The funds collected will help support access to finance by SMEs and mid-caps. 25% of the resources will finance green proje...