- Different classes of securities were underwritten by EIB and EIF
- The additional credit will support the investments and working capital requirements of Italian small businesses and mid-cap companies
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UniCredit: €750 million in additional loans to SMEs and Mid-Caps in Italy thanks to the EIB Group's investment in a new consumer loan securitisation operation
In the last few days, UniCredit concluded a new securitisation operation for a portfolio of consumer loans originating from the bank totalling around €850 million.
The senior and mezzanine tranches of the notes (which received ratings from DBRS and Moody's) issued by the securitisation vehicle were purchased by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a total value of €700 million and by the European Investment Fund (EIF) for an additional €50 million on the back of UniCredit's commitment to provide Italian small businesses and mid-caps with an equal amount of additional credit over the next 36 months.
Subsidised loans, with a minimum duration of 24 months, may be used by companies to support investment projects or their own working capital. A share of not less than 30% of the total will be earmarked for initiatives aimed at supporting the adoption by companies of more environmentally sustainable business models.
"Small businesses play a key role in promoting green and innovative investments. Thanks to the excellent relationship between the EIB Group and UniCredit, further consolidated thanks to this operation, small businesses and mid-caps in Italy will be able to benefit from subsidised loans to invest in their future," said EIB Vice-President and EIF Chair Gelsomina Vigliotti.
"Small businesses are the engine of our economy, and it is our responsibility to help them grow and to support them in the ecological transition process. These new loans demonstrate our continuing commitment to this goal, made even stronger by our long-standing partnership with the EIB Group. These funds can provide concrete support for businesses to continue to effectively serve their customers and the communities in which they operate," added Deputy Head of UniCredit Italia Remo Taricani.
This new operation is part of a framework of collaboration with the EIB Group (EIB and EIF) which, in keeping with the capital efficiency objectives identified in the "UniCredit Unlocked" plan, has generated in the last year five important securitisation operations that have enabled UniCredit to make additional credit available to companies in the countries where it operates.
In particular, during the summer UniCredit finalised with the EIB Group under the European Guarantee Fund (EGF) three synthetic portfolio securitisation transactions that enabled the UniCredit Group's banks to make available to companies in Italy, Germany and Bulgaria additional credit.
In November 2021, a first synthetic securitisation transaction was signed on a portfolio of loans on which the EIB Group offered protection for the mezzanine tranche, enabling UniCredit to make available to Italian small businesses new loans totalling €720 million.
All of the mentioned transactions, which saw UniCredit Bank AG act as sole arranger and — regarding securitisation of consumer loans alone, also as sole lead manager — are part of the broader framework of collaboration between UniCredit and the EIB Group, which in 2021-2022 alone served to mobilise financial resources for companies in the countries where UniCredit operates to the tune of over €10 billion.