EIB Group and Banco BPM support Italian SMEs hit by economic crisis

The Italian bank will thus be able to provide finance and liquidity to SMEs via subsidised loans totalling around €1 billion.


EIB | Updated: 20-01-2022 19:07 IST | Created: 20-01-2022 19:07 IST
EIB Group and Banco BPM support Italian SMEs hit by economic crisis
To this end, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide a guarantee of €91 million on a junior tranche of a synthetic securitisation operation of a portfolio of SME loans originated by Banco BPM. Image Credit: ANI
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The EIB Group (comprising the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund) and Banco BPM join forces once again to support the working capital requirements and investments of Italian SMEs hit by the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. This is the first operation of this type in Italy and one of the first in Europe.

To this end, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide a guarantee of €91 million on a junior tranche of a synthetic securitisation operation of a portfolio of SME loans originated by Banco BPM. The Italian bank will thus be able to provide finance and liquidity to SMEs via subsidised loans totalling around €1 billion.

The operation covers the first loss of a synthetic securitisation structure via the European Guarantee Fund (EGF), an integral part of the €540 billion package of measures approved by the European Union in 2020 specifically dedicated to countering the economic difficulties and productive slowdowns caused by the pandemic.

This is the third synthetic securitisation operation between the EIB Group and Banco BPM backing Italian SMEs and mid-caps, the first of which was signed in June 2019 (€55 million) and the second in December 2020 (€76.6 million) to support SMEs affected by COVID-19.

EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “The EIB confirms its commitment to supporting Italian companies hit by the pandemic. The operation with Banco BPM facilitates access to credit and frees up medium and long-term financing resources for SMEs.”

EIF Chief Executive Alain Godard said: “The European Guarantee Fund was created to support SMEs in Europe in the wake of the pandemic, and this transaction is proof of that. This is the first securitisation transaction in Italy under the EGF thanks to which the EIB Group and BBPM together will provide additional financing to Italian SMEs, supporting their needs to maintain and develop their business as well as safeguarding jobs.”

CEO of Banco BPM, Giuseppe Castagna, stated: “We are very proud of the agreement signed with the EIB, which is the result of excellent cooperation between the worlds of finance, marketing and commerce. We are a bank of national size but with a strong local presence, so it is of fundamental importance for us to support SMEs, which are the foundation of the country’s economic and business fabric. For our bank, helping to back these companies through increasingly substantial operations also represents a form of social and cultural support for the regions in which we operate”.

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