SME Guarantee

Finnvera’s guarantee coverage is at most 80%. The minimum amount for an SME Guarantee is EUR 10,000. The maximum amount of a single SME Guarantee granted for an enterprise at one time is EUR 200,000.

The new SME Guarantee may be granted at least three months after the previous SME guarantee decision. The total sum of SME Guarantees granted to one enterprise after 1 January 2024 may be up to EUR 300,000. 

For larger projects, the need of financing cannot be shared on two SME Guarantee applications. If the financing need is larger, the company should apply for Finnvera Guarantee through Finnvera's online service after discussing with the bank. 

• The applicant company must minimally have a Rating Alfa classification of A (Suomen Asiakastieto Rating Alfa classification). At least 50% of the company must be owned by private individuals.
• A company or business name that is established and operates in Finland is considered domestic.The company may also be owned by the company, but their combined holding must be less than 50% in total.
• The credit rating of the company and its responsible persons must be in order. The responsible person's business relations must not have a bankruptcy entry or a partnership with defaults.
• The SME Guarantee is not, however, suitable for the repayment of overdue amounts to the provider of financing or the reorganisation of the liabilities of providers of financing.
• SME Guarantee cannot be granted if the shareholders’ equity of the applicant enterprise is negative in its latest confirmed financial statement. 

• We provide financing for enterprises operating in almost every sector; only farming, forestry and the building developer’s business remain outside our range of financing.
• In addition, Finnvera's credit policy has limited some other sectors outside of finance. Check the list of industries that Finnvera cannot finance.
• SME Guarantee cannot be used for financing acquisitions carried out as a share transaction, acquisitions of company's own shares or purchases of business premises. Moreover, SME Guarantee cannot be used for export financing.
• De minimis aid contained in Finnvera’s SME Guarantee may prevent the client from receiving other public support/aid. Alternatively, the SME Guarantee may be priced out of subsidy.
  
  The provider of financing must report other aid or support granted at the same time in the SME Guarantee application. If this aid or support is not reported and the project contains other public aid or support in addition to Finnvera’s guarantee, other aid/support may be rejected from the client in connection with payment. Aid and support are granted by Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Business Finland and municipalities, for instance.

Promissory note credits with a maximum loan term of 10 years. The repayment period at the beginning of the loan can be up to 2 years.

SME Guarantee does not require collateral.

Finnvera does not require self-financing from the applicant.

The provider of financing must report other aid or support granted at the same time in the SME Guarantee application. If this aid or support is not reported and the project contains other public aid or support in addition to Finnvera’s guarantee, other aid/support may be rejected from the client in connection with payment. Aid and support are granted by Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, Business Finland and municipalities, for instance.

Finnvera will invoice the expenses charged on the credit by the provider of financing directly from the client, as well as the guarantee commission and service fee. The price of the SME guarantee is determined by the company’s Rating Alfa classification given by Suomen Asiakastieto.

• For SMEs in classes AAA or AA+ the guarantee commission is 0.95% p.a. of the guarantee balance reported by the bank.
• For SMEs in class AA, A+ and A the guarantee commission is 1.95% p.a.
• The guarantee commission is charged at a 3-month interval.
• The service fee is 1.0% of the guarantee amount, minimum EUR 150 and at most EUR 1,000.
• Alternatively, the guarantee may be priced out of subsidy when the de minimis aid contained in the SME guarantee may not be cumulated. However, in this case, the price will always be at least the price in the above price table.

See our Service Price List