UniCredit and MCC launch Made in Italy 2 Basket Bond

UniCredit and Mediocredito Centrale (MCC) have launched the “Made in Italy 2” Basket Bond initiative to support the Italian real economy. This program aims to provide 75 million euros to finance growth, innovation, and development projects for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-cap companies.

The initiative is designed to simplify access to capital markets for smaller companies by streamlining processes, reducing costs, and ensuring short implementation times. The program involves the issuance of minibonds with a maximum value of 3.75 million euros each, which will be subscribed equally by UniCredit, acting as arranger, and MCC.

Supported by the SME Guarantee Fund managed by MCC, the structure allows for a synthetic transfer of credit risk. The fund protects first losses up to 80% for individual minibonds and up to 25% for the entire portfolio. The first five issuances, totaling 12.3 million euros, have already been completed to support investments in production capacity, new industrial plants, energy efficiency, and infrastructure. The program is expected to be completed within 18 to 24 months.