CDP Group: new measures to support businesses affected by the Coronavirus emergency

CDP and Sace have increased the budget allocated to support Italian companies from EUR 1 billion to EUR 7 billion

Rome, 10 March 2020 – Reaffirming its commitment to support the country, CDP Group has announced further initiatives to support all Italian businesses. The measures, to be adopted immediately, will facilitate access to credit to finance export and internationalisation efforts.

To facilitate or enable access to credit, CDP has raised the budget allocated for bank loans from EUR 1 billion to EUR 3 billion. This applies to loans at officially fixed rates granted to SMEs and mid-caps by banks that are part of the “Business Platform”. These resources are already available and will be used to support investments and meet the working capital requirements of Italian businesses.

To support export and internationalisation efforts, SACE will guarantee credit lines for a further EUR 4 billion under the Plan for the Promotion of Made in Italy coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), the Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE) and CDP Group. The initiatives are aimed at supporting working capital needs and at relaunching exports and diversifying reference markets.

In this context, SACE will allocate:

• A budget of up to EUR 1.5 billion for guarantees to facilitate access to bank loans to support the need for working capital to inject new liquidity into the system, especially for SMEs, through its banking partners.
• A budget of up to EUR 2 billion for insurance cover for new credit lines to help Italian businesses enter new markets by supporting purchases of Italian goods and services by international customers.
• A budget of up to EUR 500 million to relaunch exports by guaranteeing new business for SMEs in other regions with a high potential for demand for Italian products, such as Southern America, Africa and the Middle East. All granted at favourable insurance terms, in accordance with the current international regulatory framework and without any charge for assessing the reliability of counterparties.

Moreover, working together with the banking system, SACE will offer a moratorium for up to 12 months on guaranteed medium and long-term loans, in line with the measures promoted by the Italian Banking Association (ABI) or each individual bank. This measure will be available for all businesses in Italy that have been directly or indirectly damaged by the emergency. SACE Fct, the factoring company, will extend its payment terms by up to 6 months and SACE BT, the insurance undertaking, will extend the time limit for premium payments until 30 April and grant a 60-day period of grace for other policy terms.

These new initiatives are in addition to and update the other measures already announced by the Group. In detail:

• Business Platform financing: provision of liquidity for up to EUR 1 billion (now increased to EUR 3 billion) at officially fixed rates for SMEs and mid-caps through the banking system;
• subsidised loans for internationalisation managed by SIMEST: 1) refinancing of Fund 394 for EUR 400 million; 2) 6-month moratorium on the deadlines for submitting documentation and reports and a 6-month postponement of the pre-amortization and amortization terms on loans granted - for initiatives that have been postponed; 3) elimination of the 2% increase applicable to cancellations, for repayment of the part of the loan relating to expenses not incurred - for initiatives that have been cancelled.
• loans to local public entities: deferral of instalments due in 2020 on existing loans for municipalities in regions affected by the Coronavirus emergency, as listed in the Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated 23 February 2020 (8 local authorities in Lombardy and 1 in Veneto). These instalments may therefore now be paid over a period of 10 years, starting from 2021.

Thanks to its digitalisation initiatives under the new Business Plan, all CDP Group offices in Italy remain fully operational. Given the current emergency situation and the need for strict precautionary measures, the Group has currently adopted a smart working policy for all of its employees.

CDP continues to work in close cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and in consultation with all the institutions involved to define further measures to support businesses and the public sector affected by the Coronavirus emergency and to sustain the economy.