The European Commission has approved a €10 billion Italian loan guarantee scheme to support companies across sectors.
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The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022, based on Article 107(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU'), recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance.
Italy notified to the Commission, under the Temporary Crisis Framework, a €10 billion loan guarantee scheme to provide liquidity support to companies in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In light of the high degree of economic uncertainty caused by the current geopolitical situation, the scheme is aimed at ensuring that sufficient liquidity remains available to the affected companies in need through the granting of a State guarantee on new loans and by enabling banks to continue lending to the real economy.
The measure will be open to companies of all sizes and sectors active in Italy, with the exception of the financial sector.
Under the scheme, which will be administered by the publicly owned Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero S.p.A. (SACE), the beneficiaries will be entitled to receive new loans, financial leases and recourse factoring products.
Such loans and assimilated financial products will be covered by a State guarantee ranging from 70% to 90% of the loan principal, depending on the size and turnover of the companies.
The maximum loan amount per beneficiary that can be covered by the State guarantee is equal to either (i) 15% of the beneficiary's average total annual turnover over a predefined time period; or (ii) 50% of the company's energy costs incurred over a 12-month period.
The Commission found that the Italian scheme is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework.
In particular, the maturity of the loans cannot exceed eight years; the annual interest rates on the loans respect the minimum levels set out in the Temporary Crisis Framework (modulated in order to reflect the guarantee coverage and the duration of the guaranteed loans); and the guarantees will be granted by 31 December 2022 at the latest.
Furthermore, the public support will come subject to conditions to limit undue distortions of competition, including safeguards to ensure a link between the amount of aid granted to companies and the scale of their economic activity; and that the advantages of the measure are passed on to the largest extent possible to the final beneficiaries via the financial intermediaries. ■