FNGCIMM implements four of the six sub-programmes of IMM Plus

The National Credit Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (FNGCIMM) will implement four of the six subcomponents of the IMM Plus program, namely IMM Romania Plus, Construct Plus, IMM Prod Plus and Agro Plus, according to a press release of respective institution.

We remind you that two days ago, the European Commission approved the relaunch of the IMM Plus state aid scheme, worth approximately 2.5 billion euros (12.5 billion lei). The European Commission found that the IMM Plus state aid scheme, the successor to the IMM Invest and IMM Invest Plus programmes, is in line with the conditions set out in the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework and concluded that the reintroduced state aid scheme remains necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State.

Dumitru Nancu, general director of FNGCIMM, stated:

"The approval of the IMM Plus state aid scheme represents a significant step in supporting Romania's economy in the face of the challenges created by the geopolitical crisis in the region. The result of the implementation of IMM Invest and IMM Invest Plus in the period 2020-2023 represents a European record, being translated into a number of approximately 73,000 guarantees granted by FNGCIMM, worth over 47.2 billion lei, which supported financing of over 55 billion lei. For IMM Plus we received the approval of the European Commission and to increase the support for SMEs and companies with average market capitalization within the limit of 280,000 euros for companies in the agricultural sector, up to 335,000 euros for those in the fishing and aquaculture sector and up to to 2.25 million euros for companies active in other sectors".

Under the IMM Plus scheme, aid will take the form of state guarantees for investment loans and working capital and interest and fee subsidies, with the aim of providing the necessary liquidity for companies affected by the economic disruption caused by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Thus, the IMM Plus governmental program maintains the main advantages of the program from previous editions, respectively:

- Loans guaranteed by the state, in a maximum percentage of 90% of the value of the financing granted by the partner banks in the program;

- The maximum amount of credits can be up to 10 million lei, and for the primary agriculture, fishing and aquaculture sectors, the maximum cumulative amount of financing guaranteed by the state cannot exceed 5 million lei;

- State guarantees are granted for a maximum duration of 72 months for investment loans and 36 months for working capital;

- Interest subsidies for a period of 12 months, except for agricultural, fishing and aquaculture companies;

- Subsidized risk and administration fees throughout the guarantee period.

The aid will be granted no later than June 30, 2024.

FNGCIMM shows that it has identified other external solutions to support the financing of SMEs with guarantees from European funds. Recently, the institution led by Dumitru Nancu has successfully completed the steps necessary to obtain the status of implementation partner of the indirect European guarantee granted by the European Commission within the InvestEU Program.

After successfully completing the mandatory stage of the assessment on the pillars, carried out by the independent external auditor KPMG Romania and approved by the relevant department within the European Commission, FNGCIMM entered the straight line to access new sources of guarantee, which it hopes to be able to makes it available to Romanian companies in the next period.