UniCredit Support for SMEs in the CEE Region

UniCredit has entered into a COVID-19 support package offered by the European Investment Fund (EIF) allowing the bank to provide working capital loans to CEE SMEs and mid-caps guaranteed by the EIF at a rate of 80% (previously 50%) under simplified eligibility criteria.

The new measures extend the application of the InnovFin guarantee also to large mid-caps, widening the range of eligible companies in addition to already covered small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small mid-caps. Furthermore, in order to further support the uptake of digital technologies and the digital transformation of enterprises, the InnovFin guarantee has also been extended to cover the financing of digital transformation. This transaction benefits from the support of Horizon 2020, the EU's Framework Program for Research and Innovation, and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) - the heart of the Investment Plan for Europe.

These new measures allow UniCredit to provide extensive support for companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

According to Gianfranco Bisagni and Niccolò Ubertalli, Co-CEOs Commercial Banking CEE at UniCredit, "we are offering continued support to businesses through this initiative in order to manage the liquidity issues resulting from the COVID-19 emergency... This concrete step seeks to guarantee cash flow continuity for companies in the current exceptional and difficult circumstances as well as supporting working capital. At UniCredit, we are engaging in decisive, concrete measures to support companies and pledge our full support to the real economy."

They added that they are "ready to play our part in the wide-ranging measures envisaged by European Institutions and Countries and this agreement with the EIF allows us to guarantee CEE entrepreneurs the support they need in facing the consequences of this emergency, ensuring continuity for the production chain and laying the foundations for the recovery of their economies."

As of June 2020, UniCredit in CEE countries has 30 established guarantee schemes from IFIs and local development banks, supporting the financing of SMEs and mid-sized companies with up to EUR 3.8 billion out of which 1.2 billion has already been utilized. 

The remaining EUR 2.6 billion also include new local guarantee schemes dedicated to COVID support in the amount of EUR 1.2 billion as well as the above mentioned InnovFin guarantee with COVID package for EUR 0.6 billion, aimed to facilitate lending activities in the region within the next 2-3 years.