- The bank has launched a comprehensive set of measures to support business growth, also capitalizing on new schemes recently introduced by the Government.
- Loans are aimed at supporting investments, working capital, and liquidity, and may include subsidized conditions. 40% of the resources are earmarked for the South.
- Special attention paid to integration of ESG factors, with the aim of increasing the environmental and social sustainability of economic initiatives.
UniCredit has today announced a new edition of the 'UniCredit for Italy' plan called 'UniCredit per l'Italia - imprese', entirely dedicated to the manufacturing and services sectors, for a total value of EUR 10 billion.
After the 8 billion euro measures implemented in 2022 to enable households and businesses to cope with rising energy and commodity prices, followed by the second edition in 2023 with 10 billion euro initiatives to support consumption and provide new resources for the development of specific sectors, the bank is now launching a package of financial, insurance and consultancy solutions aimed in particular at helping Italian small and micro enterprises to grow, cope with transition and become more competitive.
These initiatives represent further evidence of the bank's unwavering commitment and proximity to its clients, communities and territories in which it operates.
Among the new concrete actions that UniCredit has made available to businesses are:
- Support for micro-enterprises, the engine of local employment growth, with a special focus on youth and female entrepreneurship. Within a ceiling of EUR 1 billion, specific forms of microfinance and microcredit are envisaged with a guarantee from the SME Guarantee Fund, free of charge and equal to 80% of the amount, as well as subsidized conditions for business risk coverage and dedicated training initiatives, all within the various programs activated by UniCredit.
- Support for third-sector entities, in line with the Group's commitment to fair development and broader financial inclusion, through forms of financing tailored to the specific needs of entities and social enterprises, including the use of recently introduced forms of public guarantee. In addition to the EUR 500 million in financial support, there are dedicated services, such as the Ilmiodono fund raising platform and the Carta Etica funds for the development of social projects.
- Support for business activity in the South, to which 40 per cent of the resources will be allocated, with particular reference to investments and the establishment of new entrepreneurial activities. For the latter, under the Resto al Sud programme, there is the possibility of access to public interest and capital grants.
- Agribusiness: Up to EUR 1 billion to support investments by agricultural and agrifood enterprises, technological and digital upgrading processes, and transformation towards sustainability in line with European directives on green transition. This will be done through diversified financial instruments, using the most advantageous guarantee schemes, including the ISMEA public guarantee free of charge and equal to 100% for the construction of renewable energy production plants. Specialist consultancy with more than 200 dedicated managers located throughout the territory.
- Tourism: Up to EUR 1 billion for financing specific investment strategies, such as green transition, technological innovation and hotel upgrading, and support for working capital via flexible forms of amortisation that take into account the seasonality of receipts. The Made4Italy programme is now available, aimed at fostering a joint offer between tourism and agrifood for the enhancement of territories.
- Support for the ESG transition towards more sustainable business models through specialised consultancy, starting with a free ESG score - gradually being extended to all SMEs - provided by Cerved Rating Agency on the Open-es platform to outline a transition path and financial solutions specifically designed to incentivise the achievement of companies' sustainability objectives.
Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit and Head of UniCredit Italy said: "Italian companies have demonstrated extraordinary resilience against a backdrop of high rates, inflation and geopolitical tensions. As a bank, it is our duty to help these companies thrive, particularly those with a social mission at their core. We will continue to support their ambitions and accelerate their path to growth now and in the future. UniCredit's purpose is to empower communities to progress, and this applies even more so when times are difficult. We know that our role is more critical than ever at this juncture in our economic story and will continue to do everything we can to deliver on this purpose for all our stakeholders."
Remo Taricani, Deputy Head of UniCredit Italia added: "With the third edition of 'UniCredit per l'Italia' we are renewing our concrete commitment to stand by our customers. We continue to support the excellence of Made in Italy with solutions aimed at accompanying its transition towards greater environmental and social sustainability, with new resources for investments and a renewed service model enabling us to further improve the quality of our support. In this way we strengthen the foundations to guarantee the country an inclusive and sustainable growth for the benefit of all territories'.
A description of all measures, with their related economic conditions, is available here: www.unicredit.it/perlitalia
Milan, 7 February 2024
Contacts:
Media Relations e-mail: MediaRelations@unicredit.eu