Finnvera now in a better position to provide financing for Finnish companies
Changes introduced at the start of 2015 mean better financing opportunities for companies of different sizes, make the financing more effective and improve companies' competitiveness. Finnvera can now increase its risk-taking, especially in the financing of start-up and growth companies and companies expanding their international operations.
Finnvera can grant credits to SMEs that have profitable business operations but that have difficulty getting all the necessary financing from banks.
From the start of 2015 Finnvera has also been able to provide financing for larger companies. The changes were introduced because while there is a broad range of public financing options available for Finnish companies meeting the EU criterion of an SME, companies that are only slightly larger have much fewer options. For example, a growth-oriented company can quickly exceed the limit of 250 employees laid out in the EU definition. With a new three-year mandate, Finnvera will be able to provide financing for companies that are important for the Finnish economy and that have a turnover of up to EUR 300 million.
Moreover, the scope of the Act on the State's Export Credit Guarantees was widened on 1 September 2014. Under the amendment, which applies to investments made in Finland, Finnvera may provide the party making the investment or the suppliers with financing when the investment helps to boost exports. The new provisions do not involve any upper limit to company size or time limit.
Improvements for companies of all sizes
In the future, small companies can get larger credits directly from Finnvera because the amount of micro-financing has been increased from EUR 35,000 to EUR 50,000. This change also has a major impact on thousands of existing Finnvera customers.
As regards larger companies, Finnvera normally shares the financing risks with banks on an equal basis. However in high-impact projects and in the financing of contracts, Finnvera may make a larger financing contribution. Finnvera can now provide financing with lower amount of collateral than before. If a company has sufficiently strong financial standing, even collateral-free growth financing is possible. In investment projects, Finnvera can also provide financing with longer repayment periods than banks.
These reforms and the wider financing powers help Finnvera to assist companies to get started, to grow and to expand internationally.
– We want to find the companies that would otherwise not find us but which we can help to become more competitive by offering them financing solutions. The new powers will make this much easier. The reforms have given us tools that organisations doing the same tasks in other countries already have. In the current economic situation, we want to encourage companies to make investments and to seek new growth. Not a single profitable project should fail because of insufficient financing, says Pauli Heikkilä, Finnvera's CEO.
Finnvera has made a favourable financing decision in about 80 per cent of the applications it has received from SMEs. In 2014, SME financing applications totalled 21,677 (+7%) and had a value of EUR 1,408 million (+1%).
Further information: CEO Pauli Heikkilä, tel. +358 (0)29 460 2400
