State aid statistics reveal that some Member States grant more aid in the form of financial instruments than in the form of risk capital/risk finance. This articles examines how this statistical discrepancy can be explained. It presents several possibilities: The aid in the financial instruments is not channelled through a fund managed by a financial intermediary and/or it does not seek to leverage private participation and/or it is primarily intended as a repayable grant. The article also examines the consequences of using financial instruments to provide repayable grants.