The European Investment Bank (EIB) has made available to the UniCredit Group a new EUR 400 million credit line designed to finance the activities of the group’s leasing company in support of small and medium-sized Italian enterprises (SMEs).
New and ongoing SME projects will be financed. The loans, which may cover up to 100% of investment costs (with a maximum of EUR 12.5 million per project) will target: the acquisition, construction, extension and refurbishment of buildings; the acquisition of plant, equipment, vehicles and machinery; the costs, ancillary expenses and intangible assets relating to projects, including research, development and innovation costs; ongoing working capital requirements.
Projects undertaken by small businesses in all productive sectors – agriculture, crafts, industry, trade, tourism and services – will be eligible for financing.
The financing operations will be managed by UniCredit leasing and UniCredit Fineco Leasing.
This operation forms part of the EIB’s established working relationship with UniCredit in financing small Italian businesses under the framework agreement between the EIB, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) and Confindustria signed two years ago.
Background information:
EIB
The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically viable investment projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the Bank.