Garanzia SupportItalia

The main objective of the Garanzia SupportItalia is to support companies and help them source the necessary liquidity​ to face the negative economic effects resulting from the Russian war in Ukraine, the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus by the European Union and its international ​partners​​, and any retaliatory measures adopted by the Russia.

Garanzia SupportItalia forms part of a raft of measures introduced by Decree Law no. 50 of 17 May 2022 (the “Aid Decree”), and subsequently amended by Law no. 91 of 15 July 2022, and allows SACE to issue guarantees in favour of banks and financial institutions for loans that help those economic and business activities impacted by the crisis to continue their operations.​

The guarantee must be granted by 31 December 2023, unless the deadline is extended.

This financial solution is intended for Italy-based companies of any size and in all sectors (with the exception of banks and other entities authorised to extend credit) that have been affected by the emergency resulting from the Russian military aggression. These businesses may request loans to support:

• • Working capital;
  • Staff costs;
  • Lease or rental fees for a business unit;
  • Investments (excluding acquisitions of shareholdings)
  • Liquidity needs related to obligations to provide collateral for energy market trading activities

solely intended for factories and business activities based in Italy.

In order to access the guarantee, the company must be able to report, with appropriate supporting documents, one of the following two circumstances:

• That the need for liquidity in relation to the loan is directly attributable to the negative economic repercussions of the current crisis, due to one of the following factors:
  • Interruptions to the supply chains of inputs, in particular raw and semi-finished materials, or
  • Price increases for raw and/or semi-finished materials, or
  • Cancellation of contracts with counterparts with registered offices in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus or the Ukrainian Republic;
• Limitations or interruptions to business activity as a direct and immediate consequence of the increasing costs of electricity and gas resulting from the current crisis, with evidence that the need for liquidity in relation to the loan can be attributed to these limitations or interruptions.

Companies that carry out natural gas storage operations must be able to report, by providing appropriate supporting documents, that the need for liquidity in relation to the loan is directly due to the negative economic impact of the following factors:

• Price increases for raw materials and/or semi-finished products;
• Disruption of supply chains.

The coverage percentage of Garanzia SupportItalia varies between 70% and 90% of the loan amount depending on the number of employees and the company’s turnover volume.

The amount of the guaranteed loan cannot exceed the greater of the following values:

• 15% of the average total annual turnover of the beneficiary company in Italy for the last three years (if the company started operations after 31 December 2019, reference is made to the average total annual turnover in Italy of previous years);
• 50% of the costs incurred for energy sources in Italy in the twelve months preceding the month of the request for a loan to be considered on a consolidated basis if the company belongs to a Group and net of the remaining amount of any financing assisted by SupportItalia Guarantee obtained by the company and other group companies and any financing assisted by other public guarantee (e.g., Guarantee Fund) – pursuant to Section 2.2 of the European Commission Communication of March 23, 2022 – obtained by the company.

With exclusive reference to the beneficiary enterprises falling under the category of “energy-intensive enterprise” within the meaning of Article 17(1)(a), first subparagraph, of Directive 2003/96/EC, the amount of the Loan, calculated in accordance with the above criteria may be raised up to cover the liquidity needs for the twelve months following the date of the request for financing for SMEs, or for the following six months for beneficiary enterprises other than SMEs, in any case within a guaranteed amount not exceeding €25 million, only after exhausting the maximum loanable amount determined in accordance with the above criteria.

The duration of loans to the company cannot exceed 8 years (and in any case cannot exceed the term of 31 December 2031), with the possibility for companies to make use of a grace period of up to 36 months.

Garanzia SupportItalia is for valuable consideration*, with the payment of advance annual commissions, calculated on the residual guaranteed amount at the end of each calendar quarter, to a reduced extent for SMEs.