If the health concerns brought once again by the pandemic remain in first place, there are the economic ones just a step below. Which invest all of Italy starting from the productive fabric that permeates the economy of our country, i.e. the small and medium-sized enterprises which, in any case, in these months crossed by closures and uncertainties, they faced the difficulties without breaking down. In this sense, there are stories that demonstrate how many companies that were viable before Covid can still be so now, looking to the future with optimism.
It is the case of Sud Motori, a Salerno-based SME founded in 1996. A company now in its third family generation and which today represents excellence in the field of engine reconditioning with a complete production line: from the initial phase of disassembly, cleaning and preparation of the various components up to the final phase of assembly and specific tests of operation and storage. All for top-level regional and national transport customers, State Railways in the lead. A reality that risked, however, having to stop the investments in place to support growth following the coronavirus emergency, as Michele, the company's business developer and representative of the third generation of the De Stefanos, tells us.
That just 27 years old, after having studied and perfected his studies abroad, decided to continue the family tradition: "As soon as there were the first closures we immediately used the tools put in place by the government, but our business is based on short-term contracts and therefore within a few days we needed liquidity. In March, after we recorded 20% year-on-year growth in January, we saw ourselves lost. In order not to frustrate this result, we needed to find funding of over half a million euros, e if it hadn't been for Italianonsiferma, we would not have been able to cope with this sudden braking”.
The financing to which it refers is that obtained through Banca Generali, which in recent months has made a series of loans available to SMEs with the fintech company Credimi – European leader in digital financing for businesses, with the aim of bringing customers' private savings to support the real economy represented here from South Motors. An initiative that Banca del Leone Alato launched at the first signs of the crisis. In fact, through the collaboration with Credimi, savers have been given the opportunity to invest in the credits of healthy but struggling companies, such as this one.
All with a speed that Stefano tells with a joke: “It took us longer to prepare the documentation than Banca Generali and Believe me to give the green light to the loan: it only took a week. Instead, before discovering this possibility - the young manager always says, not without a touch of bitterness - we had turned to the bank with which we had a consolidated relationship which, however, refused us the loan for the amount requested". An age-old theme for our country, where the banking channel is often the only source from which companies can draw liquidity.
#Italianonsiferma represented precisely this alternative: thanks to this operation, in fact, in recent months not only Sud Motori but hundreds of SMEs overall had access to 100 million euro of liquidity in the form of 5-year loans guaranteed by the State Guarantee Fund (90%), with Generali, parent company of the Private Bank, which subscribed a 10% stake (10 million) of the issue. With a simple underlying mechanism: the companies that applied for loans were analyzed by the Credimi platform with which Banca Generali has partnered.
A technological process that allows for a significant acceleration of times, leading to the disbursement of liquidity within a few days – as in this case – and which has enabled many companies to overcome the difficulties. As happened to Sud Motori, in fact, which now looks to the future with greater serenity. A result that is a source of double satisfaction also on the part of Banca Generali, so much so that the deputy general manager, Andrea Ragaini, comments: “In recent months we have been faced with stories like this that make us proud for two reasons. On the one hand, in fact, we have verified that Italianonsiferma has contributed to restarting important companies and businesses for the area. On the other hand, we try to offer a quality service to protect our customers' savings, looking at solutions unrelated to volatility risks such as these types of investment in private credit”.
Savings together with the real economy, linked through concrete tools: the challenge that Banca Generali has accepted. The real bridge from which the restart passes.
