The Government activates 30,000 million euros of Recovery Plan loans to fund business projects to boost growth and green and digital transformation

27 June 2024

  • The agreement signed today by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise and the Official Credit Institute articulates the lines of financing with the ICO-Verde and ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores European funds
  • Public-private partnerships will play a key role in the deployment of the funding. Over 21,600 million euros (70% of the total) will be distributed through financial institutions and private equity managers, thus giving these programmes a high degree of capillarity and reach
  • The funds will be channelled through four financial instruments (brokerage lines, direct financing, bond purchases and capital investments) to make them more accessible to companies of all sizes and sectors of activity in keeping with their funding needs
  • The loans can be formalised until August 2026, although the ICO may continue to channel any repayments to finance new operations until 2036

Today, Carlos Cuerpo, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, and José Carlos García de Quevedo, the Chairman of the Official Credit Institute (ICO), signed the agreement that regulates the conditions of the ICO-Verde (ICO-Green) and ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores (ICO-Companies and Entrepreneurs) lines and activates the deployment of 30,150 million euros of the Recovery Plan loans with which these programmes are endowed.

“These loans constitute a safety net to ensure that self-employed workers and companies can undertake their projects and growth and modernisation plans with major financial benefits thanks to the Next Generation funds”, declared Carlos Cuerpo, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Enterprise, who indicated that these lines are complemented by the Regional Resilience Fund, signed last week with the European Investment Bank to mobilise up to 20,000 million euros in loans.

José Carlos García de Quevedo, the Chairman of the ICO, highlighted that “the signing of this agreement represents a milestone, not only because today marks the culmination of months of joint work by the Ministry of Economy, through the Secretariat of State for the Economy and Business Support, the General Secretariat of the Treasury and the ICO and the European Commission, but also because it activates the channelling of the loans to Spanish companies in partnership with the private sector to enable them to undertake their projects under the very best conditions”.


 

ICO-Verde

The ICO-Verde line will make 22,000 million euros available to finance the projects of companies of all sizes and households with the aim of driving the green transition.

The loans may be used, among other purposes, to develop projects related to sustainable transport, energy efficiency, renewable energies, the decarbonisation of industry, water management, the circular economy and adaptation to climate change.

ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores

The ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores line is endowed with 8,150 million euros and it seeks to finance projects that enhance the growth and resilience of Spanish companies, particularly smaller ones.
Within this line, a tranche of 1,000 million euros has been designed for the tourism industry with the aim of promoting projects related to sustainability, the digitisation of equipment and the reinforcement of its competitiveness.

It also incorporates a tranche totalling 150 million euros for the funding of projects related to the digitisation and artificial intelligence of public and private universities, within the framework of the PERTE of the New Language Economy.

Public-private partnerships

With the aim of adapting the supply of financing to the needs of self-employed workers and companies of all sizes and sectors, the ICO will use four instruments to channel the resources of the ICO-Verde and ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores lines: Brokerage lines, direct ICO financing, bond purchases and capital investments.

Public-private partnerships will be essential for the deployment of the loans. 21,650 million euros, accounting for over 70% of the endowment of these initiatives, is expected to be channelled through financial brokers.

The participation of financial institutions to manage the Brokerage Lines will provide the programmes with greater capillarity and enable self-employed workers and SMEs in all the regions to access this funding with ease through their network of branches. For this purpose, the ICO will launch the process in the coming days to enable interested financial institutions to sign up for these lines and make the loans available to their customers.

Particular attention has been paid to self-employed workers and smaller companies in the design of these lines, simplifying the procedures to ensure that the application process through the financial institutions is as straightforward and efficient as possible without foregoing the thoroughness that characterises the management of European Union resources.

The loans granted by the financial institutions may account for up to 100% of the amount of the financing project and incorporate the financial benefit brought by European Commission funds. The repayment terms for the customer may last up to 20 years, including any grace periods.

Private equity managers will also play an important role, as AXIS will invest in funds and make direct co-investments with resources from the ICO-Verde and ICO-Empresas y Emprendedores lines to promote the growth of Spanish startups and scaleups and the development of projects with a high degree of innovation. About 4,500 million euros will be injected into the business fabric with this form of financing, which, together with the involvement of private investors, will mobilise over 9,000 million euros.

The range of products is complemented by the ICO’s direct financing programmes geared towards funding larger projects with a significant tractor effect and the purchase of bonds issued by Spanish companies in regulated markets.

The loans can be formalised until August 2026, although the ICO may continue to channel any repayments to finance new operations until 2036.