The European Investment Fund has agreed a package with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Mediocredito Centrale that it says will help unlock €5.7 billion in new bank financing for more than 26,000 Italian small and medium-sized enterprises.
The deal was signed in Rome by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti, CDP chief executive Dario Scannapieco and MCC chief executive Ferruccio Ferranti, according to an announced on Thursday by the European Investment Fund (EIF), which is part of the European Investment Bank Group.
Under the agreement, the EIF will provide €75 million to CDP, enabling CDP to offer €3 billion in counter-guarantees to Italy’s SME Guarantee Fund, which is managed by MCC on behalf of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy.
A counter-guarantee is a second-layer guarantee designed to back a guarantee scheme, reducing the risk for lenders and helping banks provide loans on more favourable terms.
The EIF said the mechanism is expected to have a leverage effect of 76 times, supporting an estimated €5.7 billion in financing from the banking system.
The initiative expands an agreement signed in October 2023, which became operational the following year and is mobilising more than €5 billion for 68,000 businesses.
Together, the two operations are expected to unlock more than €11 billion in new financing and support more than 90,000 Italian businesses.
Separate guarantees for growing firms and student loans
The EIF also signed a new €150 million direct guarantee for CDP — described as the first of its kind in Italy — to support CDP’s direct lending to companies with turnover starting from €25 million.
CDP will create three portfolios of new loans focused on investment in innovation and digitalisation, environmental transition and sustainability.
A further counter-guarantee line backed by €7.5 million in EIF resources will be activated to support loans for university and postgraduate students.
The initiatives are supported by InvestEU, an EU programme intended to mobilise investment in areas including support for small and medium-sized enterprises and the green transition.
“This new operation confirms the EIB Group’s commitment, through the EIF, to supporting the competitiveness of Italy’s enterprise base and facilitating access to credit for small and medium sized enterprises,” Vigliotti said.
Scannapieco emphasised that the agreement “makes €5.7 billion available to businesses”.
