• The loans will be provided via Mediocredito Italiano and are intended for smaller companies
  • Finance will be available for new projects and those in progress not exceeding EUR 25m for a maximum period of 15 years

Cooperation is being strengthened between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Intesa Sanpaolo for the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Via an agreement signed today in Milan by the representatives of the two institutions, the Bank of the European Union is to provide a credit line totalling EUR 500m and, at the same time, Intesa Sanpaolo is committed to providing a matching amount from its own resources for beneficiary SMEs, thereby increasing the total ceiling to be made available to support Italy's economic system to EUR 1bn.

Specifically, the funds – in the form of medium and long-term finance and for leasing – will be intended solely for investment by smaller companies and provided via Mediocredito Italiano, the corporate financing arm of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

The loans will be either for new projects or those in progress but not yet completed amounting to no more than EUR 25m for a maximum period of 15 years.

Loans to businesses operating in all productive sectors (agriculture, crafts, industry, retail, tourism and services) will be able to be allocated for the purchase, construction, extension and refurbishment of buildings; the purchase of plant, equipment, vehicles or machinery; expenses, additional charges and intangible assets connected to the projects, including research, development and innovation costs; and to meet the ongoing need for working capital for operational purposes.

Projects involving purely financial and/or real estate investments will be excluded from the scope of the agreement.

“Intesa Sanpaolo is one of our main European partners. In Italy in particular, the work that we are doing to help small and medium-sized enterprises has enabled us to distribute EIB resources throughout the country, even during the hard times of the crisis. I am particularly pleased with this new operation, as, thanks to the scale of the total amount of finance that will be mobilised, we shall be able to give a huge boost to the economic recovery that is under way”, commented EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco.

"For Intesa Sanpaolo the long-standing cooperation with the European Investment Bank provides one of the concrete forms of assistance for supporting the real economy. At a time when the country's economy is recovering, our bank is committed to accelerating the effects of growth. In particular, so far this year medium and long-term loans for Italian SMEs have increased by 66%. Thanks to today's agreement, we shall certainly be able to have another instrument available for businesses that intend to invest and innovate to see their development projects through to completion”, stated Carlo Messina, Intesa Sanpaolo's CEO.