Fabio Barchiesi: “From CDP and BPER 112 million to 15 companies in 2022”
Fabio Barchiesi, Chief of CEO Staff and Head of Plan Implementation Coordination and Strategic Initiatives at Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, commented on the basket bond program promoted by CDP and BPER Banca which led to total funding in 2022 of 112 million in favor of 15 companies operating in various sectors of the Italian economy. The Basket Bond envisaged a fourth issue of 33 million which involved 4 companies and confirms the will of CDP e Prestiti and BPER to finance the dimensional growth of Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps in an alternative way, facilitating their recourse to the credit market.
What is a Basket Bond and how does it work? What is the role of CDP?
The Basket Bond is an innovative mechanism that satisfies the medium-long term financing needs of companies, in order to ensure the implementation of their development and investment plans. This mechanism is based on the issue of a security (ABS, Asset Backed Security) guaranteed by a pool of bonds issued by Italian SMEs and Mid Caps. In these transactions CDP acts in the role of “Anchor Investor”. The Basket Bonds are aimed at SMEs and Small Mid Caps who want to obtain medium-long term financial resources to support their growth, innovation and internationalization projects.
CDP’s portfolio focuses on two types of Basket Bonds, regional ones and market ones. Regional Basket Bonds provide for the establishment of a portfolio of minibonds issued by companies based in the reference region to finance their respective development plans. The program aims to support the entrepreneurial and social fabric of the chosen area. The portfolio benefits from a public guarantee, in the form of cash collateral, issued by the Regional Finance Company to cover 100% of the first losses recorded on the portfolio. Market Basket Bonds are programs aimed at supporting the development and growth of Italian SMEs and Mid-Caps with medium-long term loans through an alternative channel to the banking one. For this type of product it is possible to evaluate from time to time the use of guarantees at market conditions.
Fabio Barchiesi: “The fourth tranche involved four new broadcasters”
Focusing on the fourth tranche of the Basket Bond, Fabio Barchiesi explained how “this investment involved four new broadcasters active in various strategic sectors of the Italian economy such as manufacturing, ICT and trade”: the Veronese Grimet, a manufacturer of special steel cylinders which has issued minibonds for 4 million; the Emilia-based Bayker Italia, active in the marketing of tiles which has issued minibonds for 4 million, Wiit, a group of Cloud and CyberSecurity services which has issued minibonds for 20 million, OSAI Automation System, which operates in the automation of industrial processes and which issued minibonds for 5 million.
In detail, the companies have issued minibonds with a duration of between 4 and 6 years with the aim of raising strategic resources to support their respective acquisition, investment and development plans in Italy and abroad. CDP and BPER Banca acted as Anchor Investor of the programme, each subscribing 50% of the amount of the fourth tranche, as had happened in the previous issues of the programme, which was the first to benefit from the guarantee of the European Guarantee Fund European Investment Bank.
Fabio Barchiesi talks about CDP’s investment strategy in Italian companies
With this transaction, as explained by Fabio Barchiesi in a recent speech, CDP confirms its willingness to play a leading role at a time when the country’s economy needs confidence to relaunch. The goal is to promote the growth path of our country’s economy with important and targeted interventions.
The program devised by CDP and BPER recorded a positive market performance, quickly committing resources to the growth, competitiveness and new investments of the 15 Italian companies involved. Launched at the beginning of September 2022 with a ceiling that can reach up to 250 million, in just a few months the plan has allowed the completion of four tranches with a total value of 112 million, which make it one of the largest operations in terms of size and issuance times in the 2022 within the Italian panorama of Basket Bonds.
Fabio Barchiesi: “CDP and BPER support the growth of Italian SMEs”
Fabio Barchiesi commented on the CDP-BPER partnership which will be fundamental for the growth of numerous Italian companies: “As Head of the Plan Implementation Coordination and Strategic Initiatives of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, I express my full satisfaction with the issue of the Basket Bond by CDP and BPER for an amount of 112 million in favor of 15 companies in 2022. This initiative represents a significant contribution to the economic recovery of our country and to the development of Italian companies”.
Fabio Barchiesi explains the importance of the CDP and BPER agreement in the current moment of economic crisis: “The Basket Bond offers an innovative form of financing, which allows companies to access financial resources at advantageous conditions, supporting their growth and development. This represents an important step towards the goal of supporting Italian businesses at a time when courage and strong determination are needed to emerge from the crisis. With the aim of supporting the Italian entrepreneurial fabric through innovative financial instruments, CDP was able to offer a significant contribution through this initiative and together with BPER is committed to continuing to work to support Italian companies and the economic recovery of our country , both in terms of financing and development”.