Italy: EIB-CDP Framework Agreement for major works and SMEs

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa (CDP) signed today in Luxembourg a Framework Agreement to consolidate and develop cooperation in Italy on financing activities for general government and public companies, local agencies, groups of businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The agreement was signed on behalf of the EIB by Dario Scannapieco, Vice-President responsible for operations in Italy, Malta and the western Balkans, and on behalf of the CDP by its Managing Director, Massimo Varazzani.

The agreement covers a variety of fields and is in line with the desire of Giulio Tremonti, Italy’s Minister for the Economy and Finance, for coordination between financial institutions to mitigate the recessionary effects of the crisis.

With regard to the cofinancing activity carried out by the EIB and CDP, joint action is planned to identify projects (in particular infrastructure projects), carry out the relevant appraisals, determine technical solutions and make the necessary financial resources available to the final beneficiaries on the best possible economic terms.

The Framework Agreement will be able to apply to joint operations involving projects promoted by SMEs via financial intermediaries.
 
On the institutional front, the Framework Agreement between the EIB and CDP provides for:

• the promotion of meetings with local and regional authorities for the dissemination of financing instruments;
• the definition of appropriate structures, financial procedures and the cooperation required to identify and carry out financing projects;
• coordination involving periodic consultations and the exchange of information between the two institutions;
• the development of instruments involving structured finance and public-private partnerships;
• cooperation on studying and establishing funds and other financial instruments.

All the forms of cooperation provided for in the Framework Agreement will be carried out in accordance with procedures that will not compromise the EIB’s or CDP’s independence to pursue the development of their own institutional activities.

“We are particularly satisfied with this agreement, which will enable us to make available to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, at a time when it is developing the role it plays, our technical expertise in risk assessment and our knowledge of the international financial markets”, commented Mr Scannapieco. “The cooperation with Cassa will, as a result of its in-depth experience of the actual situation in Italy, have positive effects in terms of tackling the crisis by providing valuable resources for undertaking major works and new research and development projects and supplying finance for small and medium-sized enterprises in order to support Italy’s economic recovery”, added the EIB Vice-President.

“The agreement with the EIB”, Mr Varazzani stressed, “will enable us to apply as efficiently as possible the new operating models introduced with the reform of the rules approved recently by the Italian Parliament”. For CDP’s Managing Director, “the two institutions will be able to benefit from one another’s experience and the fact that they are well established in the markets in question in order to carry out jointly the infrastructure projects that the country is expecting them to undertake”.

EIB

The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union by providing long-term loans for economically viable projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 Member States of the EU. Italy is one of the four major shareholders, together with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, each of which holds 16.2% of the capital. At end-2008 financing operations totalled EUR 355bn, of which EUR 45bn in Italy.

CDP

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa is a 160 year old joint-stock company controlled by the Italian Government (70%), the remaining shares (30%) being held by a group of banking institutions. Its remit is to encourage the development of the country. CDP finances public investment, infrastructure projects for the delivery of local public services and major works of national importance.