EIB and Italian Ministry Collaborate to Launch Fund for Sustainable Urban Regeneration in Italy

Italy: NRRP – Interior Ministry and EIB launch €272 million thematic fund for Integrated Urban Plans
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(IN BRIEF) The Italian Interior Ministry and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have launched a €272 million thematic fund to strengthen the integrated urban plans of Italy’s 14 Metropolitan cities. The fund will support private projects aimed at enhancing sustainable urban regeneration and economic revitalization. The fund will attract private investment and, along with resources from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), finance projects that promote sustainable urban regeneration, social inclusion, energy efficiency, and digital innovation. The funding will be distributed by financial intermediaries in the form of loans, equity, and quasi-equity products, with 40% earmarked for the Mezzogiorno region. The project aims to have a significant impact on developing the country’s economic and entrepreneurial fabric.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 31-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, and The Italian Interior Ministry have launched a €272 million thematic fund to strengthen the integrated urban plans of Italy’s 14 Metropolitan cities. The fund will support private projects aimed at enhancing sustainable urban regeneration and economic revitalization.

Under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the EIB will mobilize resources made available through an agreement between the EIB and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), via financial intermediaries Equiter, in collaboration with the Intesa Sanpaolo Group, and Banca Finint, alongside Finint Investments SGR and Sinloc S.p.A., who were selected following a public call for expressions of interest. Equiter, along with Intesa Sanpaolo Group, will manage resources up to €163.2 million, while Banca Finint, alongside Sinloc S.p.A., will have available funds of up to €108.8 million.

The Thematic Fund for Urban Integrated Plans will attract private investment and, along with NRRP resources, finance projects that promote sustainable urban regeneration, social inclusion, energy efficiency, and digital innovation. The funding will contribute to the renovation, enhancement, and conversion of abandoned areas or buildings to improve their energy efficiency. Investments are also planned to promote sustainable, digital mobility and the redevelopment and safety of urban spaces.

The funding, with 40% earmarked for the Mezzogiorno region, will be distributed by financial intermediaries in the form of loans, equity, and quasi-equity products based on the evaluation of projects. The fund will sustain the working capital and investment cost needs of businesses. The project aims to have a significant impact on developing the country’s economic and entrepreneurial fabric.

“With this thematic fund the EIB, the EU bank, will support long-term investment under the NRRP to promote sustainable, functional and inclusive urban regeneration,” said EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti.

“This initiative combines public and private resources in order to support further urban regeneration projects in cities to enhance the compatibility, inclusion and quality of life of residents,” said Prefect Claudio Sgaraglia, Head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Internal and Regional Affairs.

“We are delighted to have been selected by the EIB as advisor for the Integrated Urban Plans Fund, which we will implement together with our partner Intesa Sanpaolo. Such funding for these cities provides a strategic opportunity for urban regeneration and the development of projects meeting environmental sustainability and social cohesion goals in accordance with the requirements of the European Union,” said Equiter CEO Carla Patrizia Ferrari.

“Thanks to the experience and collaboration of Sinloc SpA, Banca Finint and Finint SGR will actively promote this project in order to achieve the goals of the Thematic Fund for Urban Integrated Plans. These are priority objectives for our Group because urban regeneration, environmental sustainability and social inclusion help to revitalise local economies by combating an element of vulnerability that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Banca Finint Group CEO Fabio Innocenzi.

Background information

The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the EIB Group provided more than €45 billion in financing for projects in Italy.

Equiter S.p.A. is an investor and financial advisor in the infrastructure and innovation sectors. The company selects, conducts and manages direct and indirect venture capital investments to promote regional socioeconomic development and sustainable growth in the long term, according to the logic of impact finance. Equiter is a professional manager and long-term investor with a significant track record in the implementation of greenfield investments. Equiter S.p.A. has a unique shareholding structure, involving three of the largest Italian banking foundations — Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo — backed by the strength of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group.

The Banca Finint Group operates in the Italian corporate and investment banking, structured finance, wealth management and asset management markets. Founded in late 2014, Banca Finint was created after more than 40 years of activity of Gruppo Finanziaria Internazionale, founded in 1980 by Enrico Marchi. In 2016 the Banca Finint Group was established, with Banca Finint as the parent company. Banca Finint specialises in activities mainly related to debt capital markets (minibond and specialised lending) and the structuring and management of securitisation, covered bonds and structured finance transactions, also providing advisory services for extraordinary finance operations and the implementation of basket bond transactions, supporting businesses and the real economy in the areas in which it operates. The banking group comprises Finint Investments SGR, the asset management company active in managing securities and real estate funds driven by different strategies in line with the needs of its national and international investors; Finint Private Bank, which provides advisory services to private clients and families and an investment platform; and Finint Revalue, a credit asset management company. The Group’s headquarters are in Conegliano (TV). It has offices in Milan, Rome and Trento and over 550 employees, with 190 financial consultants in 62 regional offices and €10 billion euros of assets under management.

The remit of Sinloc — Sistema Iniziative Locali S.p.A. — is support for local development. It provides consultancy and investment services in Italy and Europe and promotes development, mainly through infrastructure, with feasibility studies, technical assistance and investments in public-private partnership projects. It supports local institutions and companies in project configuration and research and the effective use of domestic and EU financial resources. The Group’s capital base contains 11 banking foundations.

Media contact:

Lorenzo Squintani
l.squintani@eib.org
+352437982528

press@eib.org
+352 4379 – 21000

SOURCE: SOURCE: European Investment Bank