Intesa Sanpaolo at the supersalone: euro1,5 billion to reduce the environmental impact of the smes and foster growth abroad of the "home system"

PRESS RELEASE

INTESA SANPAOLO AT THE SUPERSALONE:

€1.5 BILLION TO REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE SMEs AND FOSTER GROWTH ABROAD OF THE “HOME SYSTEM”

· Two credit facilities for Motore Italia, intended to help relaunch the “Home System” with investments in the circular economy, sustainability and internationalisation

· The analysis presented by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department reveals that for the next few years investments will prioritise digital, research and development, green and internationalisation

· Special guests have been invited to the meeting organised by Intesa Sanpaolo: Boeri (Triennale Chairman), Gavazzi (Boffi CEO), Feltrin (FLA Chairman), Porro (Supersalone Chairman)

Milan, 09 September 2021 – Intesa Sanpaolo, the institutional partner of the Milan Salone del Mobile and also the top Italian bank in terms of offering financial support to the furniture industry and Italian production system, has made two new credit facilities available to the SMEs of the entire “Home System”, under the scope of the Motore Italia programme, to encourage investments aimed at reducing the environmental impact (€1 billion) and develop business abroad (€500 million).

The new measure supporting the relaunch of the industry economy has been announced today at the Supersalone: Intesa Sanpaolo hosted “The Milan Salone del Mobile: the industry shows signs of a relaunch for the country”, a meeting organised in collaboration with the Milan Salone del Mobile and the FederlegnoArredo system dedicated to furnishing and design companies, providing an opportunity to reflect on the performance and development opportunities of the “Home System” amidst the overcoming of the Covid-19 crisis, involving some of the most important sector representatives.

In this respect, the long-standing partnership between the Intesa Sanpaolo Group and the Milan Salone del Mobile, which began back in 2017, in the wake of a multi-year collaboration that sees the top Italian banking group committed to the economic, social and cultural recovery of the country, is thus renewed. Intesa Sanpaolo has decided, after supporting SMEs throughout the health emergency, to intervene alongside Made in Italy companies to help with the relaunch.

Stefano Boeri, architect and Chairman of the Milan Triennale and Gianluigi Venturini, Regional Director for Milan and province of Intesa Sanpaolo opened the meeting, followed by the presentation of a survey regarding the macroeconomic scenario by Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist and Head of Research for Intesa Sanpaolo. Claudio Feltrin, Chairman of FederlegnoArredo, Roberto Gavazzi, CEO of the Boffi Group, Maria Porro, Marketing and Communications Director for Porro spa and Chairwoman of the Milan Salone del Mobile and Anna Roscio, Executive Director Sales&Marketing SMEs for Intesa Sanpaolo, then compared notes at a round table.

The study entitled “The Italian furniture industry: challenges and opportunities for growth”, carried out and presented by Gregorio De Felice, Chief Economist for Intesa Sanpaolo, shows how the furniture industry is one of the most dynamic sectors in this recovery stage: during the first half of 2021, turnover is already back to pre-pandemic levels, up 12.9% on the figures recorded during the same months of 2019. In Europe, only Denmark and Poland did better than us. Medium/large enterprises take the leading role in the current recovery.

Both sales on the domestic market and exports are showing strong recovery. In particular, a rise has been recorded in export flows to the United States and France. A good contribution to growth also came from Asia (above all China, South Korea and Qatar). The industry’s commercial progress has also continued to drive forward, in H1 2021 reaching €4.1 billion, an all-time high.

Digital, research and development, green, internationalisation and human capital are the priorities to be addressed over the coming years. Italian furniture companies show a good, widespread adoption of new technologies in production processes, but are somewhat lagging in terms of e-commerce.

Growing attention is now being paid to the environment and the evidence is strengthening that being sustainable has clear economic advantages: Italian furniture companies with environmental or EMAS or FSC certifications recorded a 6.7% rise in turnover from 2017 to 2019; the other industry companies are at a standstill at +1.8%. An important contribution in terms of sustainability may also come from the proximity chains, which are particularly widespread in Italy. The local chains in fact allow for a better control of environmental safeguarding by suppliers and a “sustainable” division of work (also thanks to “zero kilometre” supplies).

Sustainability and exports: the Intesa Sanpaolo initiatives for the “Home System” companies

The report prepared by the Intesa Sanpaolo Research Department has clarified that sustainability and exports are the two main drivers of growth in the furniture industry. Moreover, sustainability is also the theme characterising the 2021 Milan Salone del Mobile, which is all inspired, both in terms of setting up and the development of new products, around the topic of environmental impact, eco-design, recycling and new, zero-impact materials.

Considering the importance of design and sustainability in terms of increasing the value of competitiveness of the “Home System” companies, an aim shared with FederlegnoArredo, Intesa Sanpaolo has afforded the industry a credit facility of €1 billion for S-Loan and Circular Economy loans.

Italy’s top banking group offers various different solutions to assist companies as they head towards the sustainable transition: in addition to the €6 billion credit facility devoted to the circular economy and the Cariplo Factory and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center Circular Economy Lab, 2020 also saw Intesa Sanpaolo launch the S-Loans. This is a specific loan created to support the initiatives of companies towards the sustainable transition with a bonus mechanism for the achievement of specific broad-based sustainability objectives. Recently, another initiative has been launched in this area, the S-Loan Climate Change, has been launched - a unique opportunity on the Italian banking scene - with 80% SACE backing, thanks to which the members of FederlegnoArredo are offered a new instrument to help guide their investment choices towards reducing their impact on climate change.

Export is another growth driver of the recovery of business turnover. “Made in Italy” is a popular brand, well-known to foreign markets, as shown by the survey presented today, in particular as regards the furniture industry: Italian quality and style are sought-after and the growth seen in exports is a tangible sign of this. In support of the industry companies, Intesa Sanpaolo offers a new credit facility of €500 million for loans in support of exports and internationalisation, as well as a network of around 200 foreign specialists, flanking the managers to help identify the best possible solutions. The strengthening of the offer and dedicated consultancy structures for SMEs is one of the strategic areas of intervention of Motore Italia, aimed at fostering dimensional growth and also projecting it onto the international markets.

The initiatives and credit facilities dedicated to the sector come as part of the more articulated Motore Italia programme, Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategic plan that, launched this year, makes €50 billion available for initiatives to support growth and financial liquidity, with the aim of helping SMEs to deal with the recovery of the economic cycle and the new challenges, including investments for the sustainable transition, also in line with the guidelines of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

Motore Italia corresponds, in fact, to an approach integrated with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan: the additional resources for SMEs made available by the Group (out of a total of €400 billion) amount to €120 billion to supplement the public resources over the course of this Plan and specifically on the missions envisaged by the country's relaunch plan (i.e. digitalisation, ecological transition, sustainable mobility, education and research, inclusion and cohesion, health).

Press information

Intesa Sanpaolo

Media Relations Territorial Bank and Local Media

stampa@intesasanpaolo.com

https://group.intesasanpaolo.com/it/sala-stampa/news

Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo is the leading Bank in Italy and one of the most robust and profitable banks in Europe. It offers commercial, corporate investment banking, investment management, asset management and insurance services. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has approximately 13.5 million customers in Italy, served through its digital and traditional channels, and 7.2 million customers abroad, where it has subsidiary banks operating in commercial banking in 12 Countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and an international network specialised in supporting corporate customers in 25 Countries. Intesa Sanpaolo is recognised as one of the world’s most sustainable banks. The Group believes that creating value means driving growth in society and the economy. In the environmental field, it has created a €6 billion fund for the circular economy. It supports relevant economic inclusion and poverty reduction projects, including a €1.5 billion impact fund for financing groups that struggle to access credit. Intesa Sanpaolo is deeply involved in cultural activities, organised both by the group and in collaboration with other institutions in Italy and abroad, including permanent and temporary exhibitions of its vast artistic heritage at the Gallerie d’Italia, the Group’s museums in Milan, Naples, Vicenza and soon Turin.

Last updated 9 September 2021 at 12:12