and medium-sized enterprises is to be injected into Locat.
Milan-based bank UniCredit and its subsidiary Locat have agreed
to sign a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank to
support the Italian SME sector, which will receive the financing
through leasing contracts issued by Locat.
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The agreement follows a larger plan, approved by the EIB in
September, to earmark €15 billion over the period 2008-2009 for
loans to SMEs throughout Europe granted via commercial banks, as
part of a package of €30 billion until 2011.
The EIB said that the loans would be part of its efforts to
“mitigate the effects of the current credit crises”.
The bank said that “all autonomous firms with fewer than 250
employees” will be eligible for EIB loans, which are aimed at
supporting “all types of investment or expenditure necessary to
grow a small business”, including both tangible and intangible
investments.
The EIB said that EU commercial banks will be responsible for
evaluating each loan application submitted by an SME.
Antonio Fabrizio
