Italy: COVID-19 – EIB provides €50 million to MCC for SMEs and mid-caps in southern Italy
Support for new investment projects, with a maximum term of five years, in all production sectors mainly for companies in southern Italy.
Working capital, including wages, tax, social security contributions, and administrative and other operational costs are also financed.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) are providing €50 million to help Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps to face the COVID-19 crisis.
An agreement to this end was announced today by the EU bank and the Italian public sector bank dedicated to supporting smaller companies mostly in southern Italy. Under the agreement, the EIB will make €50 million available to MCC for SMEs (businesses with up to 250 employees) and mid-caps (up to 3 000 employees).
The new credit line, aiming to address the ongoing crisis, provides financing for new investment projects with a maximum term of five years, and covers working capital needs, in view of the exceptional situation being faced by Italian industry. This includes social security contributions, administrative and other operational costs and multifunctional credit lines, even if these are extensions or renewals of working capital loans. Only purely financial and/or real estate transactions remain excluded.
The loans target projects from companies active in all production sectors: agriculture, crafts, commerce, tourism, services and industry.
“Thanks to the partnership with Mediocredito Centrale, the advantages of EIB financing in terms of loan duration and low interest rates will be available to small and medium-sized companies, mostly in southern Italy, an area which, in addition to manufacturing, also hosts production chains interconnected with national and international industry, such as many activities in the automotive sector,” said EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco.
“The agreement signed by Mediocredito Centrale and the EIB is an important tool for small and medium-sized enterprises in southern Italy that, from a position of competitive disadvantage, have been more heavily affected by the effects of the ongoing health crisis. The interdependence of northern and southern Italy means that supporting production chains and investments in this area will provide a boost for the entire country. This virtuous multiplier effect shows how Italy can only grow with a stronger and more competitive South, and how this region is playing a strategic role in post-crisis reconstruction and recovery policies,” added Mediocredito Centrale CEO Bernardo Mattarella.
Italy: EIB signs loan agreement with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in support of mid-caps
– European Investment Bank (EIB) signs EUR 200 million loan agreement with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), it is the first EIB credit line to Italian mid-caps through CDP.
– Financing available under advantageous conditions to all sectors in the Italian business environment, but with a focus on RDI, manufacturing and agri-food.
The EIB and CDP have signed a EUR 200 million loan agreement to promote lending to Italian mid-cap companies. The EIB funding will be on-lent to the final beneficiaries either through the subscription by CDP of mini-bonds that these companies would emit, or in the form of standard lending.
“The collaboration with CDP goes back a long time.” commented Andrea Clerici, head of the EIB’s Rome office. “However, this is the first time that the EIB partners with CDP to specifically support midcaps. These companies are trying to differentiate their funding sources, for example through the emission of mini-bonds, which are indeed on the rise, and we think this is a positive development for the market as a whole.”
In total, CDP will support up to 20 mid-cap companies in Italy through this loan. As a rule of thumb, the EIB financing can be used to cover only 50% of any supported project by CDP.