Agreement SACE - ICCREA BancaImpresa: € 150 million for the internationalization and innovation of italian companies
Iccrea BancaImpresa (Iccrea Banking Group) and SACE (CDP Group) finalized an important new agreement that provides € 150 million in new loans to customer companies of Banche di Credito Cooperativo earmarked to sustain innovation projects and growth abroad.
Signed by the general manager of Iccrea BancaImpresa, Enrico Duranti, and by the CEO of SACE, Alessandro Castellano, the agreement is the first to be concluded as part of the program “2i per l'Impresa- Innovation & Internazionalizzazione” developed by CDP (in part as the national entity for promoting the Juncker Plan) and by SACE and EIF (EIB Group).
Under the agreement, SMEs (small and midsize enterprises) and small mid-caps (companies with total revenues of up to €250 million and up to 499 employees) may contact the branches of BCC to request loans for financing working capital requirements, any other costs directly related to the execution of contracts abroad, and direct investment projects in international markets.
For companies considered innovative, the loans may be guaranteed by SACE up to 80% and reach a maximum amount of € 7.5 million and duration of 96 months.
In detail, loans consist of personal loans, with interest rate varying based on the duration of the loan, intended to support investments such as establishment and expansion costs, patents and trademarks, purchases of buildings, land and equipment, the acquisition of shareholdings, creation of joint-ventures, promotional and advertising costs, participation in trade shows in Italy and abroad, expenses to protect Made in Italy, and upgrading and renewal of structures and machinery in Italy and abroad.
The agreement is an example of synergetic collaboration between BCC and SACE, offering meaningful instruments to support all those companies aspiring to improve their competitiveness abroad, and it consolidates the long-standing partnership between BCC and SACE, which have been operating together since 2008 to support the internationalization of Italian companies.