“This is real money.” This phrase was repeated several times by the chairman of Univa (the union of Varese industrialists), Giovanni Brugnoli, and by the chief executive of UBI-Banca Popolare di Bergamo, Giuseppe Masnaga. Indeed, in such difficult times for getting access to credit, it is not every day that you have €10 million in the form of bond loans to finance companies that are members of Univa, with a preferential rate, of course.

The bonds will be issued and sold on the market by the Bergamo bank, from 15 March; they will have a duration of 36 months and will yield investors gross interest of 3.50%, with a six-monthly dividend. This is a good return, if we consider the classic, long-term treasury bond (the BTP), which yields 2.70% gross. What makes the offer even more attractive are the “bonuses” provided by the bank, such as free opening of a current account, and a free share dossier.

The minimum investment is €5000, with multiples of €1000. “We think we’ll sell at least €1.5 million by this evening,” said Felice Castiglioni, the UBI-Banca Popolare di Bergamo director for South Varese, with a satisfied tone. So, there is a great optimism surrounding the selling of these bonds, so much so that the leaders of Univa and those of the bank are already planning to increase the ceiling well above the €10 million, with a second issue.

This is an important sign for companies in Varese Province, at a time when credit has been drastically reduced, and businessmen are forced to make sudden repayments. “Our province believes in the manufacturing system,” Brugnoli says, “and this is a sign of trust, because the bonds make resources available to our companies, at a time when access to credit is difficult.”

Companies that are members of Univa will immediately be able to obtain loans of up to €500,000, for a period of 36 months, with monthly repayments. The interest rates applied will be 5.40% for production investments, the purchasing of stocks and the cost of internationalisation, and 4.90%, if the money is used to create new jobs. If it is used as liquid assets, the interest rate will increase to 5.75%.

Companies will not have to provide the bank with real securities, which they normally do, and they will not have to pay even €1 for the preliminary checks (which will be very fast, no more than ten days) and to receive the sum. Moreover, new customers will be given a current account free of charge for 12 months.

During the Univa meeting, there was a feeling of going back thirty years, to the time of Credito Varesino, the bank that was the economic icon of the province for many years, at least until 1982, when it was purchased by the Banca Popolare di Bergamo.

This year the Banca Popolare di Bergamo, which has no fewer than 111 branches in the province, will distribute €1.6 billion in the various regions, which is good news if we consider that the bank’s ratio of net payments overdue/net loans stands at around 2.29%. “Today, liquidity is available,” Masnaga concludes. “If we’re held back, it’s because of the obligations that the European Banking Authority imposes on us for the temporary capitalisation. If I can’t go to capital market, I’ll have to reduce credit, the assets. This agreement has noble goals, because it’s looking to the future.”