In the first five months of this year, the Institut Català de Finances has handled €23.9 million in loans co-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). A total of 40 transactions have been concluded for mainly industrial SMEs to drive their growth.
Almost €10 million of this business is in loans for investment projects to step up production capacity by acquiring new equipment, expanding facilities or buying new industrial units. Another €8.2 million was earmarked for working capital needs and €5.7 million to bridge the liquidity gap of SMEs hard hit by soaring supply costs. ICF Eurocrèdit is one of the many solutions provided by the ICF to cope with the supply crisis.
ICF CEO Jordi Òliva notes the ICF’s role as a conduit for European funds: “as a public financial institution, managing European funds is crucial as it enables us to offer SMEs loans with highly advantageous financial conditions to unlock growth, innovation and transformation of the business community.”
Nearly €230 million in funding since 2019
Over the last three years up to May 2022, the institution has funded 433 transactions for an aggregate amount of €228.5 million through its ICF Eurocrèdit facility.
In this period, business volume was highest in 2020 with a total of 185 transactions and €98 million in funding. The main reason for this increase was the surge in lending as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, since ICF Eurocrèdit Covid facility loans accounted for 61.6% of the transactions and 67.1% of the amount arranged in that year.
As for the other years in this period, 2019 closed with total funding standing at €66.5 million, while in 2021 it reached €40.1 million.
On top of this loan facility, which came on stream in 2017, the ICF also handles European funds through IFEM in venture capital programmes and co-investment with private investors via equity loans.
About ICF
The Institut Català de Finances is the Catalonia public financial institution. Its mission is to foster funding for the business community in Catalonia in order to support the growth, innovation and sustainability of the Catalan economy. The ICF is complementary to the private sector by offering a wide range of financing solutions focusing on loans, guarantees and venture capital. Since 2014 it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which brings together public banks and financial institutions operating in Europe.
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