Today there are 72 days left until 31 December 2020.

No, this is not a countdown taken well in advance, although there are plenty of reasons to look forward to the end of this year. But this last quarter, which already raises concern, could be the last chance to take advantage of the various financing measures promoted this year.

Until 31 December, it's still possible to apply for the 100% public guarantee provided by the Italian Guarantee Fund on loans up to 30 thousand euros. Furthermore, all the companies, regardless of size, sector, and legal form, included SMEs that have already benefited from the Guarantee Fund to full capacity, can also take advantage of the Garanzia Italia provided by SACE.

The Garanzia Italia applies not only to bank loans but also to other types of transactions, such as leasing, factoring and confirming. Besides, SACE was authorized to issue collateral on bonds and other debt securities; in other words, companies that choose to obtaning financing through the issuance of bonds or minibonds can also benefit from the public guarantee.

The SACE guarantee on debt securities

About the advantages of obtaining financing through the issuance of debt securities, we talked right in the last article. Loans obtained through the issuance of corporate bonds can be an additional financing channel for companies together with bank credit lines, they are not recorded in the Italian Central Credit Register, and reimbursement can occur either through amortization plans or at maturity.

The coverage offered by SACE results in a further advantage; the existence of public collateral assures investors that the loan will be refunded even in the event of default of the issuing company. The issuance of a corporate bond is more agile than the bank loan due diligence process, and with the SACE collateral, 45 days may be sufficient to obtain the financing.

The aim is to support companies that have suffered from the Coronavirus epidemic, but which until December 2019 could boast an adequate economic-financial balance. Access to the guarantee is dependent on obtaining a rating of at least BB- assigned by an ECAI Rating Agency. To verify your eligibility chances, you can check the credit assessment provided to your company by s-peek. If it falls between classes AAA and BB the chances are high (we already talked about the difference between the credit assessment provided by s-peek and an official rating in this article)

How do I get the SACE guarantee?

The application to SACE cannot be submitted by the company itself. Instead, you need to apply to a credit institution for a loan covered by the public guarantee. Before making the application, however, you can use the SACE guarantee simulator to obtain an indication of the maximum amount of financing that can be requested.

In the event of a bond issue, the company will forward the request to the arranger, who will send the request to SACE. Basketball bond initiatives, which group corporate bond issues by different companies, can also benefit from the SACE guarantee; the arranger will designate the rating agency and submit the guarantee request to SACE.