More business credit from Unicredit and the EIB (European Investment Bank). The two institutions announced an agreement that makes new resources available to stimulate the recovery of the economy affected by the effects of the pandemic.
The agreement makes available 200 million euros "dedicated to SMEs (companies with up to 250 employees) and Midcaps (up to 3 employees)" specifies the joint note from the two groups.
The new line of credit, aimed at dealing with the current emergency, provides for both the financing of new investment projects, with a maximum duration of five years, and the coverage of working capital requirements, in consideration of the exceptional phase that the fabric economic economy is experiencing.
The interventions are intended for companies located throughout Italy and active in all productive sectors: agriculture, craftsmanship, industry, commerce, tourism and services.
EIB funds can be used to finance projects with an individual cost of up to €25 million and can cover 100% of the loan for an amount not exceeding €12,5 million for each project.
EIB and UniCredit have agreed extraordinary eligibility criteria for this credit line in favor of companies
“In particular, the press release explains – working capital financing, including wages, taxes, social security contributions, administrative expenses and other operating costs as well as multifunctional credit lines is eligible, even if it is an extension or renewal of working capital loans. Only purely financial and/or real estate transactions are excluded”.
The credit line integrates with the facilitation measures of the Liquidity Decree, providing for the possibility of combining the EIB funds with the direct guarantee of the Guarantee Fund for SMEs or of SACE (insurance-financial company with public participation specialized in supporting exports and internationalization), with obvious benefits in terms of final pricing of loans.
In the last five years, the EIB resources that UniCredit has allocated to companies in Italy amount to approximately five billion, with more than 4.000 projects financed.
