ROME- Intesa Sanpaolo Bank and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are renewing their commitment to guarantee new resources to support the real economy, providing financing to Italian businesses. 

 The recent agreement includes a credit line totalling EUR 300m made available by the EIB and a commitment by Intesa Sanpaolo to match that amount with own funds provided to beneficiary companies, thereby raising the maximum overall amount available to support the Italian economy to EUR 600m. Adding this funding to the others underwritten by the end of 2016 the total amount of new funds with BEI reaches €1.8 billion. 

 The funds will be earmarked exclusively for investments by midcaps - i.e. companies with a consolidated workforce of between 250 and 3,000 employees - via Mediocredito Italiano, the Intesa Sanpaolo Group's bank specialised in supporting the development of businesses. 

 Both new and existing projects that have not yet been completed, costing up to EUR 50m with a maximum term of 12 years, will benefit from the loans, which are intended for businesses operating in all productive sectors - agriculture, crafts, industry, retail, tourism and services. Pure financial investment and/or real estate projects are not covered by the agreement. 

“Intesa Sanpaolo is and wishes to remain the driver of the real economy in Italy, as demonstrated by the EUR 130bn in medium and long-term loans granted by our bank since 2014,” said Carlo Messina, Intesa Sanpaolo’s CEO.

“The recently signed agreement continues and strengthens the long-standing cooperation between our bank and the European Investment Bank in support of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises, which are a key component of the productive fabric of our country. This new financing will make it possible to provide further support to Italian companies intending to engage in growth and development projects,” he concluded. 

“The cooperation between the EIB and Intesa Sanpaolo, which guaranteed important resources for Italian business during the hardest years of the crisis, is continuing unabated in the current recovery period where plenty of encouraging signs are visible. However, this recovery is still tentative and – as this operation shows – needs a joint effort from all involved, as it will consolidate and grow over time,” said EIB Vice-President Dario Scannapieco.

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