DL 8 April 2020, n. 23, art. 18

With the Legislative Decree of 8 April 2020, n. 23, the Guarantee Fund for SMEs was further financed, in order to guarantee companies with up to 499 employees and professionals the necessary liquidity to restart their activities after the Coronavirus emergency.
Alongside the expansion, there is also a significant streamlining of the bureaucratic procedures for accessing the guarantees granted by the Fund which, in a nutshell, will act on three main lines:

  •  100% guarantee for loans up to 25% of the previous year's revenues and in any case within the maximum limit of 25.000 euros, without any creditworthiness assessment, to SMEs, individual entrepreneurs and arts and professions whose business has been damaged by the COVID-19 emergency, attested by a self-certified declaration, and in the presence of certain requirements;
  •  100% guarantee for loans up to 800.000 euros, to SMEs with application of creditworthiness assessment, in the presence of certain requirements;
  • 90% guarantee for loans up to 5 million euros, with the possibility of reaching 100% with the counter-guarantee of the Confidi, in the presence of certain requirements.

Until 31 December 2020, the guarantee can be granted free of charge.
The Fund guarantee is a subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Development, also financed with European resources, which can only be activated against loans granted by banks, leasing companies and other financial intermediaries in favor of businesses and professionals.
By significantly reducing the level of risk for the lender (the bank), the guarantee granted by the Fund allows the applicant (the company) easier access to credit. The Fund therefore does not intervene directly in the relationship between the bank and the customer: interest rates, repayment terms, etc. are left to negotiation between the parties.
No further collateral, insurance or bank guarantees can be requested and acquired on the part guaranteed by the Fund.
All interventions of the Guarantee Fund for SMEs are assisted by the guarantee of last resort from the Italian State. Therefore, even in the event of default by the Fund, the lender who has obtained relief from the enforcement of the guarantee due to the default or
of the Fund's incapacity, it will be able to direct its claim by acting directly against the coffers
state.