The new year brings changes to legislation on Finnvera

On 21 December 2010, the President of the Republic approved the amendments made to the Act on Credits and Guarantees Provided by the State-Owned Specialised Financing Company and to Section 6 of the Act on the State-Owned Specialised Financing Company. The amendments will enter into force on 1 January 2011.

The Act on Credits and Guarantees Provided by the State-Owned Specialised Financing Company will have new provisions on how Finnvera’s venture capital investments are supported. Any support given is granted to Finnvera, which channels the support to its subsidiaries. The title of the Act is also amended so that it includes venture capital investments.

By nature, Finnvera’s tasks in the sector of financing involve public administration. For this reason, the Act will contain provisions on the application of general administrative Acts to Finnvera. With respect to domestic financing, the provisions on public administrative tasks will correspond to the principles that were already laid down for export credit guarantee activities in the Act on the State’s Export Credit Guarantees in 2005. However, in domestic financing as well, Finnvera has in practice complied with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Language Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

The amendment to Section 6 of the Act on the State-Owned Specialised Financing Company expands Finnvera’s right to make information on its clients available to Tekes and the client data system of enterprise services, irrespective of confidentiality regulations. The amendment is associated with the Act on the client data system of enterprise services, which entered into force on 15 December 2010.