The Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF), the public investment bank of the Generalitat, has sealed an alliance with the Official Credit Institute (ICO), of the Spanish government, to channel the financing of housing and strategic business projects. The objective is to boost in Catalonia the resources of the public-private fund España Crece intended to provide continuity to the Next Generation European funds linked to the post-pandemic recovery plan –whose application period ended last August– and also the lines intended for companies.

Directly, 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.

Employers' association Pimec claims 48% of the almost 150,000 Catalan companies that obtained a state-secured loan during the beginning of the pandemic will have problems to return the money. This is extracted from a survey of 417 companies, with the results of which the employer has asked for debts repayments to be postponed or cancelled, either fully or partially, in order to avoid "consequences that would be much worse," as explained Pere Cots, Pimec's director of strategic consulting.