Catalonia’s public body offering credit funded 8,500 companies in 2011 and 2012 with €1.7 billion

Barcelona (ACN).- The Institut Català de Finances (ICF), the Catalan Government’s financial institution which officially offers credit, announced that it gave €1.7 billion in loans to 8,500 companies over the last two years in an Action Plan. The plan’s main objective is to foster economic activity and prevent companies from going bankrupt due to liquidity issues. 98% of those who received loans were SMEs and independent workers; 1% were medium-large companies and the remaining 1% were publicly-owned companies. In fact, the ICF has gradually shifted from supporting public companies to focus on private enterprises and productive sectors. The ICF’s Action Plan had the objective of injecting liquidity into the real economy, into the Catalan business network, while the private banks are going through their restructuring process and access to credit is particularly difficult for many companies. In fact, the lack of credit for viable companies is one of the factors behind the current economic recession.

The ICF has focused its activity on funding investments and working capital targeting the private business sector – through direct loans, mediation loans and endorsements –; funding members and shareholders to capitalise their companies and improve their solvency; and funding, through risk capital and participatory loans, newly-created companies – to foster entrepreneurship – and companies with a high potential for growth.

Within the funding trough loans and endorsements, the ICF has put several funding lines in place resulting from sector agreements, such as that for innovation and internationalisation, for social economy and entrepreneurship (especially targeting independent workers and shops), tourism and the primary and agri-food sector, among others.

Regarding the amount of funds allocated during the two years of the Action Plan, 84% of them went to SMEs and independent workers. 12% went to medium-large companies and the remaining 5% went to for publicly-owned companies. The sector having received the largest number of loans was agri-food, followed by retail, tourism, logistics and the industrial sector.

Regarding capital risk activities, the ICF – through its societies ICF Holding and Ifem – doubled the amount of investment, reaching €157.8 million. The total amount of investment from the ICF (€157.8 million) and the private sector accounted for €795 million, 50% has already been invested in entrepreneurship projects and in companies with a high potential for growth.

Furthermore, during the period of 2011-2012, the ICF created a participatory loan line, based on co-investment and the so-called Business Angels. This line accounted for €12.2 million. In addition, it created the fund Capital MAB with €10 million for capital enlargements in the Mercado Alternativo Bursátil (MAB), a sub-market of the Spanish stock-exchange system. Additionally, the ICF created the fund Capital Expansió, backed with €20 million, for internationalisation and consolidation projects for companies with a turnover of between €10 million and €100 million per year.