This qualification (“Pillar Assessment”) will allow the ICF to carry out the management of European Union programmes. The process of obtaining this qualification required a comprehensive evaluation of the ICF's organizational and financial systems and processes
The Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF) has obtained accreditation from the European Commission to be able to directly manage European funds.
This authorization is a very important step for the ICF as a channeler of European funds. Currently, the ICF manages other financial instruments co-financed with European funds, such as the FEDER or guarantee agreements with the European Investment Fund, but these programs come from agreements already defined by other states that negotiate directly with the European Commission.
For example, in the case of FEDER funds, it is the State and the Generalitat of Catalonia that establish the agreement with the EU, and then the Generalitat delegates the management of the funds to the ICF. The advantage of this accreditation is that from now on the ICF will be able to propose and negotiate new programs bilaterally like the Official Credit Institute (ICO).
The process of obtaining this accreditation involved a thorough review of the ICF's systems and procedures by the European Commission, which finally approved the accreditation when it verified that the entity has systems, regulations and procedures in place equivalent to those of the Commission itself.
The European Commission currently has an open call for projects for promotional banks, such as the ICF, that wish to propose lines within the InvestEU Program.
The InvestEU Program provides guarantees in the amount of 26,000 million euros that will mobilize investments of close to 372,000 thanks to public-private collaboration during the validity of the program. The investments will be framed in four major axes: sustainable infrastructures; research, innovation and digitization; SMEs and social investments.
About the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF)
The ICF is the public financial institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya and its main mission is to promote the growth of companies and other entities. It finances relevant and transformative projects through loans and capital, with a special emphasis on ecological transition, reindustrialization and social housing. The ICF usually complements loans from the private financial sector, offering long repayment terms to facilitate debt repayment. Since 2014, it has been a member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which brings together most of the banks and public financial institutions operating in Europe.
About InvestEU
The InvestEU program provides the European Union with key long-term funding by mobilizing significant private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps boost private investment for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition.
The InvestEU program brings together under one roof a multitude of financial instruments that the EU currently has available to support investment in its Member States, making the financing of investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The program consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Center and the InvestEU Portal.
The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of 26.2 billion. The full budget guarantee will support the implementing partners' investment projects, increase their risk-taking capacity and thus mobilize at least 372 billion additional investment.