SMEs will have 1 billion euros to finance themselves directly through the ICO.

BarcelonaDirectly, without intermediaries, and online. SMEs will have access to €1 billion from the Official Credit Institute (ICO) until 2027 to finance their growth. This was announced this Friday by the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, during a working session at the headquarters of Pimec in Barcelona. The instrument is aimed at SMEs that are at least four years old and have audited annual accounts for the last two fiscal years or that have a public guarantee.

Cuerpo presented ICO Crecimiento, the name of the new direct financing tool aimed at SMEs "with viable projects, capacity for growth and job creation, and that, due to their characteristics or profile, have not been served through traditional financial channels." He estimated that, initially, around 10,000 companies could benefit, but in the medium term, this figure could reach 50,000. The president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, has highlighted the fact that SMEs can obtain financing "for the first time" by going directly to the ICO.

This initiative has been included as an addendum to the ICO's strategic plan from 2022 to 2027 "to strengthen its role as a national development bank, providing added value to business financing throughout all economic cycles and not just during crisis situations."

The objective is to cover "market errors," complementing the private sector, and to ensure that SMEs with growth potential obtain the necessary financing to deploy their projects. The tool focuses on SMEs, innovative sectors, companies with models based on intangibles or with high but sustainable debt ratios that, while viable, find it difficult to access traditional bank financing.

The financing will be for between five and ten years, with grace periods. The interest rate will be based on the Euribor plus a margin ranging from 1.75% to 0.75%, depending on the risk of the transaction. In co-financing transactions with other financial institutions, the interest rate may be lower.