An increased commitment to promoting strategic supply chains; growing support for SME liquidity against a general backdrop of tightening access to credit; and an enhanced presence in areas where there is greatest need. These are the main points highlighted by CDP’s second Strategic Monitoring Report, which follows the first edition published in July.
The data in the Report show that CDP completed around 2,000 loan or capital disbursement transactions, releasing €11.5 billion to around 13,000 counterparties, including enterprises and public administration bodies. Although the total value of loans and investments was consistent with the first half of the previous year (+0.2%), the type of market activity changed, in line with the evolution of the economic scenario. Indeed, compared to the first half of 2022, support for investments and the liquidity of enterprises grew in the first half of 2023, mainly channelled through the lending system. SMEs and financially vulnerable companies, which find it harder to access credit, were the main beneficiaries.
More than 70% of the completed transactions fell under the ten areas of intervention outlined in the CDP 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. This plan aims to support Italy in tackling challenges related to climate change, fostering inclusive and sustainable growth, and re-evaluating value chains. With respect to these areas, funding for strategic supply chains, the energy transition and technological innovation all grew. CDP operated in these three areas mainly through direct loans to enterprises, which almost tripled, rising from €2.2 billion in the first half of 2022 to €6 billion in the first half of 2023.
In the same period, CDP was operational across the whole Italian economy, providing complementary funding commitments to the market: in the south of the country, it was most active towards smaller enterprises, who experience greater difficulty in accessing credit, and public administration bodies. In particular, CDP has boosted its support for public projects in a way that complements the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). This additionality has helped further support the implementation of initiatives in the public interest, especially in those local areas with the most obvious needs.
In order to maximise the impact of its interventions, CDP has begun to accurately monitor the actual results of each funded project. The initial data for loans granted to public entities are now available for around 200 projects. In the first half of 2023 alone, CDP financed investments that, for example, will result in a redeveloped urban surface area of over 280,000 square meters and the maintenance or expansion and rationalisation of more than 300 km of the road network.
Read the report