Coronavirus emergency: Intesa Sanpaolo increases credit to €50 billion to overcome the crisis and relaunch italy

PRESS RELEASE

CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY:
INTESA SANPAOLO INCREASES CREDIT TO €50 BILLION
TO OVERCOME THE CRISIS AND RELAUNCH ITALY

Turin, Milan, 9 April 2020 – Intesa Sanpaolo places great importance on its role as an impact bank in support of Italy’s economic and social fabric, aware of the support it can offer in facing this extraordinary phase of the Coronavirus epidemic. The Group’s numerous COVID-19 initiatives during these dramatic weeks underline its continued commitment to all communities, working in collaboration with public and private entities to address the health and economic emergency.

To this end, Intesa Sanpaolo announces that it is increasing to €50 billion the amount of credit made available to the country, thanks to the measures introduced by the Government this week.

Intesa Sanpaolo's role as a reference point in providing credit to families and businesses continues even during the epidemic. Starting with €450 billion in lending at Group level, additional credit has been extended through new loans, which in March alone increased the consolidated stock by €5 billion. Medium and long-term lending to support the investments of families and businesses totaled €15 billion at Group level in the first three months of the year.

The Bank is increasing liquidity available to companies in this phase of exceptional emergency, allowing them to protect jobs and manage payments despite the progressive reduction or even the absence of turnover. In just a few weeks – from mid-March to April 3rd – Intesa Sanpaolo has already disbursed a total of €1.5 billion in new loans to SMEs for the COVID-19 emergency, with about 10,000 requests received.

This is an extraordinary volume of requests in a very short period of time, which the Bank is evaluating with tireless commitment. This is being done while implementing all the necessary precautions to protect the health of our employees and customers, thus encouraging working from home and allowing branch access only by appointment.

The new resources for businesses include both new lines of credit – with a duration of 18 months minus one day, of which 6 are pre-amortized – and pre-approved credit lines made available as cash liquidity for client companies to help manage urgent payments with greater flexibility.

The provision of €50 billion is in addition to the suspension of loan and mortgage payments for families and businesses that Intesa Sanpaolo announced early in the Coronavirus emergency, with the three-month suspension of installments (for the principal portion only or for the entire installment), extendable for an additional three to six months depending on the duration of the emergency.

The complexity of managing this unprecedented process may influence response times to customer requests. Soon, Intesa Sanpaolo will launch a new service to simplify the way in which requests for the suspension of loan installments are submitted. Customers will be able to remotely request the suspension on the www.intesasanpaolo.com website by completing a form and sending the application to a dedicated email address.

"Our Group has put in place significant initiatives to combat the effects of the epidemic both in social and economic terms”, says Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo. “Today we are further increasing the liquidity available to SMEs, to overcome the emergency and relaunch our country. The strength of our Bank and the people who are part of it will continue to serve Italy’s businesses and families, with €450 billion of credit granted, equal to over 25% of Italy’s GDP”, adds Messina. " I once again express my sincere appreciation for all the people and structures of Intesa Sanpaolo serving customers despite the difficulties they face, an even more crucial role in this phase of the country's economic life”.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo is one of the most solid and profitable banks in Europe, providing wealth management, consumer banking, corporate and investment banking, asset management and insurance. As the market leader in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo serves nearly 12 million customers through digital and traditional channels. The Group’s international subsidiary banks provide for an additional 7.2 million customers in Central Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Intesa Sanpaolo is recognized as one of the most sustainable banks in the world.

The Group believes that value creation should be interpreted broadly, supporting social purpose and driving the real economy. As part of its commitment to sustainable growth, Intesa Sanpaolo has created a €5 billion financing facility dedicated to the circular economy. The Group’s large-scale project for economic inclusion and poverty alleviation includes a Fund for Impact to provide €1.2 billion in loans to those parts of society that find access to credit difficult. Intesa Sanpaolo is deeply committed to cultural initiatives that it promotes on its own and together with partners in Italy and abroad, including permanent and temporary exhibits of the vast artistic patrimony at the Gallerie d’Italia, the Group’s three museums located in Milan, Naples and Vicenza.

Last updated 9 April 2020 at 12:39