This morning the Council of Ministers approved the framework to mobilize 40,000 million euros of credits from the Recovery Plan through the Official Credit Institute (ICO). It is the implementation of the second part of the recovery plan. After the funds from the first part, now come the loans from the second, the so-called Addendum that was approved by the European Commission in October, and almost half of these credits (40,000 million out of a total of 84,000) will be channeled through of five ICO facilities.
To seek to adapt to the needs of companies, financing will be carried out with different instruments. On the one hand, loan lines will be used through financial entities, to take advantage of the capillarity of banks to reach SMEs and companies of all sizes, and making up to 100% of the financing available. Approximately half of the credits will be distributed in this way. "The participation of financial entities will be key, as it already was in the Covid ICO line," said the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, when presenting the decision, adding that approximately 20,000 million will be distributed in this way.
For the other half of the loans, the ICO will channel them through direct loans and can acquire bonds or make capital investments in companies.
There will be five facilities to finance projects for SMEs and companies focused on green and digital transformation, to promote the audiovisual sector and disruptive technologies, as well as to increase the stock of public social rental housing. The lion's share of the credits goes to the ICO-Green Line, with 22,000 million for loans to homes and companies to develop energy efficiency, renewable, water management and adaptation to climate change projects.
A second line goes to entrepreneurs, with 8,150 million for mainly SMEs, and including a specific item of 1,000 million, destined for the tourism sector. A third facility, endowed with 1,712 million, goes to the audiovisual sector, both film and television as well as video games and visual effects. Also included is a facility, with an endowment of 4,000 million, to increase the housing stock for social rental or at an affordable price, and finally, a line to promote startups in disruptive technologies. It is the Next-Tech Fund and is endowed with 4,000 million.
