UniCredit launches new initiatives to ease the financial burden faced by Italian businesses and families
- UniCredit acts on its commitment to supporting communities in difficult times
- The bank pledges 5 billion euros of new finance to support Italy's businesses
- In addition, UniCredit will also provide the suspension of instalment payments on loans to businesses and households and a postponement of charges for private customers worth a total of around 3 billion euros
UniCredit, which has always stood by Italian families and businesses, today launches "UniCredit for Italy", a new action plan to support the country during the current economic climate.
Italian businesses and families, grappling with the staggering increase in energy and raw material costs, are facing an economic crisis with uncertain implications and timing. A downward spiral of general increases in the price level of goods and services, leading to a surge in inflation, which has returned to a galloping pace of 7.6 percent in 2022, is combined with lower GDP growth, which, while confirmed to remain positive, will be at 3.3 percent this year compared to 6.6 percent in 2021*.
To alleviate the impact on local communities and continue supporting the country's growth, UniCredit has prepared a set of targeted initiatives aimed at supporting the disposable income of households and the liquidity of Italian companies.
The concrete actions by the bank in detail are:
- Plafond: 5 billion euros of new finance, through dedicated CreditPiù facility with maturities from 3 to 36 months and a grace period of up to 6 months, made available to the country's businesses to support their liquidity needs in the face of rising commodity and energy costs;
- Instalment plan for purchases and utilities: possibility to postpone payments made using Carta Flexia for individual purchases or the expenditure for an entire month, for up to 6 months with zero rates and fees. The initiative will potentially benefit 1.4 million individual customers, starting from Oct. 1 and finishing on Dec. 31;
- Business mortgage moratorium: a dedicated 12-month moratorium will be launched for those companies who have not already benefited from government guarantees, upon evaluation of the bank. The initiative can be accessed until Dec. 31;
- Mortgages for families and individuals: UniCredit will offer the 400,000 Italian families who are customers of the bank and mortgage holders, an up to 12-month suspension of the payment of the principal amount, the option to reconfigure the monthly instalments by reviewing the repayment plan or the postponement of the instalment payments for up to 3 instalments. This will be done with the flexibility module of family/individual mortgage.
UniCredit estimates that the instalment, moratorium and flexibility measures for customers will have a total value of 3 billion euros.
"The complicated international environment is having a negative impact on the balance sheets of Italian companies and households, which is aggravated in particular by the exceptional increases in energy and commodity costs that are driving a dangerous inflationary pressure," explained Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit. "As a bank we have never failed to provide support to our Country during the most difficult times it has gone through and, given our social purpose and commitment to our clients, we want to continue to concretely help families, communities and businesses to mitigate the financial impact of the current crisis, while also ensuring the liquidity needed to deal with the complexities of this economic situation."
"UniCredit has always been close to the needs of our local communities, and it is important that we play our part in helping during this difficult time, characterised by a loss of household purchasing power and a risk of shrinking business investment," added Remo Taricani, Deputy Head of UniCredit Italy. "The "UniCredit for Italy" plan offers our customers real assistance towards the management of family and business budgets, allowing them to better deal with the challenges ahead while providing greater protection in the face of rising energy costs and inflation."
*Source UniCredit Research
Milan, 5 September 2022
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