Rome, 13 May 2024 - Today the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Intesa Sanpaolo signed an agreement to promote credit policies and synergies for the development of the agricultural and agrifood sector, with an eye to the measures of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Intesa Sanpaolo will make €20 billion available to the sector to revitalise Italian agriculture – as part of the broader €410 billion in financing to support the NRRP initiatives– drawing on the funding made available by CDP.
The agreement was presented in the Ministry's Sala Cavour, in the presence of the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida. Participants included Dario Scannapieco, Chief Executive Officer of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Stefano Barrese, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo's Banca dei Territori Division and Mauro Micillo, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo's IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division.
The priority objective of the agreement is to identify investment programmes for:
In order to support access to credit and alternative financing channels by companies in the sector, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Intesa Sanpaolo intend to develop an initiative that fosters more efficient management of products subject to lengthy ageing processes, thus promoting the improvement of companies' financial positions.
With the specialised expertise of its Banca dei Territori Division – which through the Agribusiness Division operates throughout Italy with a network of about 250 operating points, 88 of which are dedicated branches, and more than 1,000 professionals serving over 84,000 customers – Intesa strongly believes in dialogue between the public and private sectors and, also thanks to the IMI CIB Division, works alongside customers and institutions to create new specialised financial solutions in support of strategic initiatives such as this. The agreement demonstrates how such collaboration can contribute concretely to impactful, innovative and sustainable projects for Italy's strategic production chains, while also increasing their relevance and competitiveness in foreign markets.
The Intesa Sanpaolo Group allocated €15 billion to the agri-food industry from 2020 to 2023.
The institutional mission of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti is to promote Italy's development also through multiple types of initiatives to support the economy. CDP has identified agriculture and agribusiness as strategic sectors to be supported by launching new initiatives under the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. In particular, in support of access to credit for businesses in the sector, CDP is promoting a series of measures that include subsidised loans granted through the Revolving Enterprise Fund (FRI), non- repayable grants drawing on the funds of the NRRP or Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, lines of funding for indirect support for SMEs and mid-caps, basket bond initiatives and direct loans to larger companies.