EUR 200 million from CDP to the Cassa Centrale Banca to support Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps in the manufacturing sector
To promote access to funding for approximately 70 companies, Cassa Depositi Prestiti has fully subscribed a bond issue of Cassa Centrale Banca
Rome/Trento, 24 October 2022 - Supporting the growth plans and potential of small Italian companies in the manufacturing industry and facilitating their access to capital markets, also improving employment prospects and environmental impact. These are the objectives of the EUR 200 million bond issue fully subscribed by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and issued by Cassa Centrale Banca.
The funds will target approximately 70 Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps for new investments and to meet working capital needs. Specifically, each loan will be for a maximum amount of EUR 17.5 million, with a minimum duration of no less than 18 months, and will be disbursed by Cassa Centrale Banca, also in pools with other Cooperative Banks (BCCs) - Rural Banks - Raiffeisenkassen of the Group: the latter option may occur both in the case when the leading bank grants the above-mentioned financial institutions a portion of the CDP funds to disburse to companies, and in the case the same banks of the Cassa Centrale Group intervene in the transaction, adding their own funds to those already committed by CDP.
The bond loan represents the inaugural issue of the Cassa Centrale Banca in the context of the Euro Medium Term Notes Programme (EMNT) for EUR 3 billion listed on the Dublin Stock Exchange.
The transaction is in line with the CDP's 2022-2024 Strategic Plan which, in full synergy and complementing the banking system, aims for increasing proximity to companies, with the objective of promoting and facilitating their investments. The new funding will be able to contribute to improving the efficiency of production cycles of companies in the manufacturing sector, thus generating a positive social and environmental impact.
The initiative also strengthens the partnership between CDP and the Cassa Centrale Group, already operating in the context of loans backed by State guarantees, to support private reconstruction following natural disasters.