The Catalan Institute of Finance has financed, during the last three years, 183 companies and entities in Camp de Tarragona for a total amount of 115.5 million euros. The public financial entity has shared this data as part of the Meeting for Sustainable Economic Growth that took place at the Celler de Vila-seca this Thursday and brought together more than one hundred and twenty companies, entities and economic agents.

The inauguration of the day was carried out by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas Guix. During his speech, he warned that sustainable economic growth is "the only passable road" at the moment, "because a world where growth is not sustainable will no longer be valid neither for companies, nor for the country, nor for the planet". For the minister, the ICF is "a key tool" to deploy this strategy which, as she explained, must revolve around 4 major axes: reindustrialization, the green transition, the transfer of knowledge and innovation, and construction of a social and economic shield that guarantees the well-being of all citizens.

The head of the Catalan Government's finances has also recalled that the European Investment Bank has granted the ICF a loan of 100 million euros to strengthen its financial capacity with the aim of financing sustainable investments. "The ICF is the best possible ally to deploy the sustainable development strategy of companies and institutions", he stressed.

Finally, the minister wanted to highlight that the ICF has stronger solvency ratios than any public or private financial institution. "This fortress, which he has been able to build, is what should now allow him to intensify his public banking mission." In this regard, he pointed out that public banking has a 15% market share of the financial sector in Europe. "We want the ICF to also play a prominent role in Catalonia, to diversify sources of financing and investment for companies and entities, as well as to complement the private financial sector", he concluded.

For her part, the CEO of the ICF, Vanessa Servera, has presented the activity data of the entity in Camp de Tarragona between 2020 and 2022. "In the last three years, we have financed 183 companies and entities for 115.5 million euros, allocating most of the resources to the trade, tourism and transport sectors" emphasized the CEO.

Servera has also stated that "we want to convey to the companies of Camp de Tarragona that if you have important projects from the ICF we commit to doing everything we can to accompany you in their financing in the very long term. We want to be useful to you and agile: once we have the documentation, we promise to give you an answer in less than 30 days."

In the same way, Servera has assured that "at the ICF we do not compete with private sector financing, but we have a public vocation to complement the offer and offer personalized advice that responds to the specific needs of each project" .

From 2020 to 2023, the ICF formalized 215 operations at Camp de Tarragona for a total of 115.5 million euros. Of this total, 93% went to entrepreneurs and SMEs and 41% of the loans went to companies in the trade, tourism and transport sectors, as well as in the field of education, culture and sport (13%) and manufacturing industries (12%).

The business cases of Copy Valls, Associació Taller Baix Camp and Vinyes del Terrer

The Commercial Director of Copy Valls, Isabel Gracia, the manager of the Associació Taller Baix Camp, Josep Nogués and Xavier Picola from Vinyes del Terrer, accompanied by the business development director of the ICF, Antoni Vallès, participated in a panel round about the future of SMEs in Catalonia.

The speakers highlighted the support of the ICF in the growth projects of the three organizations, especially during 2020 and 2021 with the covid19 pandemic, and within the strategic axes and key sectors of the Catalan economy: the green transition , reindustrialisation, social housing and digital transformation and innovation.

For his part, Vallès affirmed that "from the ICF we lead the anti-cyclical role of the banking sector, offering solutions adapted to the different problems faced by companies in their day-to-day life with the aim of continuing to promote the growth of the Catalan business fabric".

About the ICF

The ICF is the public financial institution of Catalonia. Its main mission is to promote the financing of the business fabric in Catalonia in order to contribute to the growth, innovation and sustainability of the Catalan economy. The ICF acts as a complement to the private sector, offering a wide range of financing solutions focused on loans, guarantees and venture capital investment. Since 2014, it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which brings together most of the banks and financing public entities finance companies operating in Europe.