The Government has asked banks to estimate the demand of companies interested in receiving next year soft loans from European funds, according to financial sources. These loans have a grace period of 10 years and are granted at rates close to zero, which is why they are very attractive at a time marked by rising credit prices.
The aim of the survey among the entities is to refine the final figure that will be requested from Brussels before the summer of 2023. It is convenient to get it right and not ask for more because the EU loans, for a total amount of 84,000 million until 2026, are counted as debt.
Banks are considered a key player in distributing these credits "because of the capillarity of their network and knowledge of the companies," according to Alberto Aza, head of the CECA association of former savings banks. The entities have already responded to the government asking it to define precisely the criteria for the projects, which must focus on environmental aspects. They have also conveyed the message that they are not capable of proving compliance by customers with environmental criteria. That is why they demand the participation of a third independent entity.
A part of the loans, at least 15,000 million, will be channeled through the ICO, which already played an essential role with its guarantee lines during the pandemic. Now a mixture of two options is being analyzed, which are the distribution by the banks of loans and direct guarantees of the public entity and, secondly, a formula in which the banks participate in the business. Unlike the pandemic, entities will foreseeably assume a risk of more than 20%.
Banks not only value their ability to distribute loans quickly, but also to advance part of the money. There is time, but the calendar is demanding because the money must be requested in just six months and be accompanied by a project that must be executed before 2026.
To mobilize the loans, the Government has designed twelve funds that add up to a total amount of 65,325 million euros. Eight are new and four already exist. This deployment goes in parallel to the 26,000 million in additional transfers that will be requested to reinforce the ten Perte for strategic sectors, with the aim that Spain receives the 90,000 million euros assigned pending request.
The ICO will come into play through two lines, which are the green ICO and the expansion of ICO SMEs. The work of the banks will not end there because they hope to participate in practically all the initiatives for channeling loans, including the 20,000 million euros that the autonomous communities will manage for aspects such as sustainable transport, industrial competitiveness, the sustainability of tourism or care to older people. There will also be loans for 4,000 million to scale technology startups and a similar amount will be dedicated to another fund aimed at strengthening the solvency of strategic companies.
The Ministry of Economy has reflected in the addendum a new fund of 2,000 million to cover corporate tax rebates for those companies that invest in I D i. The objective is to retain and care for Spanish research talent.
The novelties that the Government has agreed with Brussels in the aforementioned addendum also include a twist to the audit and control system with which it will try to ensure the proper use of European funds. The objective is to avoid fraud and corruption when distributing subsidies and credits. The main novelty in this sense is the implementation of a computer system that will allow detecting, explains the Executive in the document that the council of ministers published on Tuesday, that a contract is awarded to a company owned by a public manager or some familiar.
Economy exposes that this "prior analysis of conflict of interest" will be carried out by crossing data from the Tax Agency through the Minerva platform, which is the virtual office in which the regional and local administrations interact with the Ministry of Finance.
Sources from the economic area of the Government explain that this corruption prevention system is an obligation of the European Commission that will apply to all countries. The objective is to control the correct distribution of funds, especially in certain countries in the east of the continent, they add.
