Release date: 19 February 2024
Promoter – Financial Intermediary
BANCO DI SARDEGNA SPA,BPER BANCA SPA,SARDALEASING - SOCIETA DI LOCAZIONE FINANZIARIA PALocation
Description
The lending line to BPER aims at financing the investment and working capital needs of Italian small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-caps in their sustainable transition. A climate action (CA&ES) window of at least of 30% of the total lending line is proposed together with a minimum of 40% dedicated to businesses located or operating in the Southern Regions of Italy, namely Cohesion Regions.
Additionality and Impact
The operation addresses access to finance for SMEs and MidCaps in Italy, a market failure, which stems from asymmetric information. The situation has been exacerbated by the economic downturn cause by the War in Ukraine. Moreover, the loan is also expected to help SMEs and Mid-Caps in the Regione Emilia Romagna and other italian regional areas affected by the extremely severe weather events over 2023, by investments in restoring their production capacity and resume business activity.
The operation foresees that at least 30% of the loans will be dedicated to Climate Action and Environment Sustainability projects promoted by Italian SME and MidCaps in their energy efficiency targets and their sustainable transition.
The implementation of the energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) projects financed under this operation will contribute to the achievement of the Italian National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) up to 2030 that envisages ambitious targets of carbon emission abatement, and the Italian recovery and resilience plan. Moreover, it supports the EU and national targets for EE and RE. The operation is aligned with the EU Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD), the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
The operation supports the Bank's priority lending objectives concerning energy efficiency and renewable energy and will contribute towards the Bank's climate action and environmental sustainability objectives (100%). The operation also supports the REPowerEU+ Action Plan.
Through this operation additional resources will be channelled to finance eligible investments promoted by SMEs and Midcaps: the additional lending capacity provided through the EIB's intervention will generate positive effects on investments from the availability of long term financing and overall lower financing costs.
Finally, the operation will also direct funding towards SMEs and MidCaps located and operating in the so-called Cohesion Regions, which for Italy are traditionally those in the Southern Italy and insular Regions coupled with some central Regions (EIB Cohesion Priority Regions eligible under Article 309(a) RFEU for 2021-2027 programming period.
The Financial Intermediary has experience and good a track record in allocating EIB financing.
Objectives
The aim is to provide final beneficiaries with working capital and liquidity to solve market failure in the target business segments, in view to sustain their commitment towards decarbonisation. The operation will in fact target investments and projects in energy efficiency, energy production from non fossil sources and technologies reducing consumption of natural resources. Ultimately, 40% of the overall funding line will target final beneficiaries located and operating in the less developed areas of Italy which qualify as EU Cohesion areas, namely the Italian southern and insular regions. Those areas of Italy have suffered from long-term structural economic and social weaknesses, which are persisting. Also in those Regions, the climate and sustainable transition is a strong challenge but it may also be a potential vector of new alternative economic development.
Sector(s)
- Credit lines - Credit lines
Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)
EUR 500 million
Total cost (Approximate amount)
not applicable
Environmental aspects
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.
Procurement
Final beneficiaries will be requested to comply with applicable national and EU legislation, as appropriate.
Status
Signed - 9/02/2024
Disclaimer
Before financing approval by the Board of Directors, and before loan signature, projects are under appraisal and negotiation. The information and data provided on this page are therefore indicative.
They are provided for transparency purposes only and cannot be considered to represent official EIB policy (see also the Explanatory notes).