SACE, INTESA SANPAOLO AND A POOL OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS SUPPORT ITALPREZIOSI'S GROWTH: €40 MILLION LOAN CONTRACTED WITH GARANZIA ITALIA GUARANTEE

• The loan was underwritten by Intesa Sanpaolo, as Agent Bank and Sace Agent, together with Banca MPS, Banco BPM, BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas, BPER Banca, Cassa Centrale Banca, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Unicredit

Arezzo, 3 December 2021 - Italpreziosi – one of the world's leading producers, traders and marketers of precious metals, ingots and investment gold – has signed a loan for a total of €40 million to support the Group's further growth.  The financial institutions involved in the operation were Intesa Sanpaolo (IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division), which acted as Agent Bank and Sace Agent, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banco BPM, BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas, BPER Banca, Cassa Centrale Banca, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and UniCredit.

The loan, with a term of 3 years, is backed by SACE's Garanzia Italia  – the instrument envisaged by the Liquidity Decree to support Italian companies during the Covid-19 emergency – and is aimed at supporting Italpreziosi's growth and development plan.

Ivana Ciabatti, Italpreziosi's CEO: "This financing operation, in view of the current general contraction in the supply of raw materials, will allow the Company to support its development and growth strategy, with a positive impact on the community, and in particular on Arezzo's gold and silver district, which, along with its counterparts in Vicenza and Valenza, is a première jewellery manufacturing centre. The support of leading financial institutions will allow us to pursue our strategic objectives more quickly, both at the international level and in the various national districts, thereby contributing to the growth and economic and social support of the sector in a fully sustainable direction."

The various phases of the agreement were developed and managed by Italpreziosi's internal team, confirming the Company's strong structural efficiency.

“Through Garanzia Italia we allow Italian companies to obtain the liquidity they require to cope with the economic and financial repercussions of the pandemic, but also to support companies' future investment plans, commented Dario Liguti, SACE's Chief Underwriting Officer. "With this operation, we confirm our role as an institution supporting première Italian companies such as Italpreziosi, a leader in a sector that is important for the Italian economy and one of the first to be affected by the global increase in commodity prices."

Intesa Sanpaolo has always stood alongside and supported the development of Italian companies both nationally and internationally," commented Michele Sorrentino, Head of Network Italy at Intesa Sanpaolo's IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division. The transaction with Italpreziosi – one of the leading companies in the gold and silver sector – confirms our continuous support for a strategic sector of Italian products and our focus on the communities and industrial districts of our country, the driving force of the Italian economy."

According to conclusions based on Federorafi's data by the Confindustria Moda Study Center, in the first half of 2021 gold exports rallied strongly on the same period of 2020 (while remaining in negative territory), showing considerable growth both in quantity (+16.2%) and in value (+49.3%) compared to the "pre-Covid" situation of 2019. Among the top target countries, the strongest performances in the six months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020 were exports to the US, UAE, UK and Germany.

Intesa Sanpaolo

Media Relations

Corporate & Investment Banking and Governance Areas

stampa@intesasanpaolo.com

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