The European Investment Fund (EIF) is set to counter-guarantee a portfolio of 5 652 operations backed by the Guarantee Fund for SMEs, managed by Mediocredito Centrale. The total portfolio amount corresponds to €3.2 billion of funding, including a direct guarantee from the Fund of €2.8 billion.

In concrete terms, this operation is a synthetic securitisation of secured loans. The EIF is making available €157.3 million from SME Initiative and COSME Programme resources corresponding to 50% of the amount of the junior and mezzanine tranches of the portfolio.

The operation enables resources to be released from the Fund that can be used for the granting of new guarantees. In particular, the Fund undertakes to create by 31 December 2023 an additional portfolio consisting of new operations supporting companies located in the Mezzogiorno, South Italy, for a maximum secured amount of €946.1 million, which will be guaranteed by the Fund’s resources released via the EIF counter-guarantee.

The initiative stems from the working group set up by the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mediocredito Centrale, ABI (Italian Banking Association) and the EIB Group and it aims to encourage participation in the securitisation operation of financial intermediaries operating with the Fund. To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in March 2021 to define the information on loans already guaranteed by the Fund, complementary to that required for ordinary operations, which the participating intermediaries should have provided to ensure the proper functioning of each operation.

The SME Guarantee Fund, managed by Mediocredito Centrale on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Development, has been the main public operational tool helping Italian companies to tackle the pandemic crisis. From March 2020 to December 2021, 2.5 million guarantee requests were received, amounting to approximately €217 billion.

Background information:

European Investment Fund (EIF)

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its main remit is to support European micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), boosting their ability to access credit. The EIF is also active in supporting investments in climate funds and infrastructure with a strong focus on environmental sustainability. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

COSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) running from 2014 to 2020 with a total budget of EUR 2.3 billion, including the support provided by the European Fund of Strategic Investments.

Mediocredito Centrale (MCC)

Mediocredito Centrale is a public bank wholly owned by the Invitalia Group, which is itself owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The bank has consolidated its institutional role to help increase the competitiveness of the country, in particular the Mezzogiorno, through the establishment of the Mediocredito Centrale banking group, which includes Banca Popolare di Bari and Cassa di Risparmio di Orvieto. The three main objectives of MCC, to support the business and economic fabric of the country, to facilitate access to credit for SMEs, and to support the implementation of productive investments and research and development investments, are pursued via lending and the granting of facilities. For more information, see www.mcc.it.

The SME Guarantee Fund, managed by Mediocredito Centrale on behalf of the Ministry of Economic Development, facilitates access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises and professionals through the issuance of a public guarantee for loans granted by banks, leasing companies and other financial intermediaries. The Fund, empowered by the Liquidity Decree Law to tackle the pandemic crisis, can be deployed for loans for any purpose and duration in support of entities operating in all economic sectors. The Fund provides a direct guarantee at the request of lenders (banks, leasing companies and other intermediaries) or reinsurance/counter-guarantees at the request of guarantors (credit guarantee consortia — Confidi — and other intermediaries).

Press Contacts:

EIF:

Lorenzo Squintani, tel.: +352 691 285 772, l.squintani@eib.org

Website: www.eif.org – Press office: +352 4379 21000 – press@eib.org

Mediocredito Centrale:

Gianluca Amico, tel.: +39 06 4791 2258, gianluca.amico@mcc.it

Website: www.mcc.it - Press office: mail ufficiostampa@mcc.it

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