The European Investment Fund (EIF) and A.T.I. Fidi. Gar. have signed a counter-guarantee agreement for €280m under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) providing enhanced access to finance for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in Italy.
The contract provides cover to A.T.I. Fidi. Gar. for new guarantees up to €560m on working capital and investment loans to SMEs.
A.T.I. Fidi. Gar. is a specially-created joint venture of three regional mutual guarantee institutions (in Italy, they are called Confidi) which joined forces in order to cover a larger territory with CIP-supported guarantees. It includes:
– Eurofidi, a Turin-based confidi which operates in Piemonte, Valle d’Aosta, Lombardia, Liguria, Trentino Alto Adige, Emilia Romagna, Toscana, Marche, Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and Molise. It is the largest mutual guarantee institution in Europe;
– ApiVeneto Fidi, a Vicenza-based institution operating in Veneto;
– Sardafidi, a Cagliari-based confidi which works with Sardinia’s SMEs.
FinSMEs
19/02/2010