With 54,000 members, Confidi Systema! is a top player in the regulated guarantee consortium system. In 2017, it introduced new financial solutions built on solid capital foundations.

Milan, 18 May 2018 – The Shareholders' Meeting has approved the 2017 financial statements, the second in the first term following the extraordinary merger completed on 1 January 2016, thanks to the alliance between the association systems of Confindustria Lombardia, Confartigianato Lombardia, and Confagricoltura Lombardia.

Confidi Systema! has maintained its standing of excellence in terms of capital, finance, economic performance, and business services, despite operating in a market characterised by overall credit restrictions.

The company closed the year with a profit of €3 million, equity of over €72 million, a Total Capital Ratio of 21.13%, and a non-performing loan coverage ratio of 78%.

The need to maintain a solid capital base has been successfully balanced with a commitment to serving the local area, driven by the awareness that only by carefully managing capital can we support an increasing number of businesses in the medium and long term.

Innovations in our service offering include bridge financing lines, which generated over €11 million in disbursements during the year. In the field of structured finance, Confidi Systema! has played a significant role as a subscriber to minibond issues, totalling €20 million.

The volume of guarantees issued during the year reached €286 million, compared to €256 million in 2016, in line with the forecasts set out in the Industrial Plan.

In his report to the Shareholders' Meeting, Chairman Lorenzo Mezzalira expressed his satisfaction with these results: “Confidi Systema! has confirmed its high standing in management and business services. 2017 was characterised by tentative signs of recovery in the country's competitiveness, evidenced by both slight GDP growth and data regarding the recovery in employment. However, the dynamics relating to business financing remain complex.” “We are convinced,” Mezzalira continued, “that effective corporate finance management is a central strategic element for the future growth of the country and all businesses. Confidi Systema! is committed to constantly improving the bank-business relationship and to experimenting with increasingly innovative financing solutions, with the aim of bringing savings and markets closer to the real economy.”

For the President of Confindustria Lombardia, Marco Bonometti, “the results presented today not only confirm the foresight of the decision to merge all regional guarantee consortia to create a single point of reference for SMEs, but also demonstrate that Confidi Systema! is a tool that is close to businesses and the Lombardy region. However, we are well aware that the guarantee consortium alone is not enough to support the investments that companies need. For Confindustria Lombardia, the relationship between finance and business must be rethought and modernised to revitalise the credit market and inject more resources to support the production system. One of our objectives,” Bonometti emphasised, “is to establish a discussion forum with the main banking groups to find sustainable solutions together that will allow all companies—even the less established ones, and especially small businesses—to finance the technological investments necessary for innovation. Only if the entire business system is enabled to grow and develop can we strengthen our industrial fabric and defend our production chains, which represent the backbone of Italian manufacturing,” concluded Marco Bonometti.

“The relationship between our businesses and banks,” declared Eugenio Massetti, President of Confartigianato Lombardia, “remains one of the most critical elements of their business life. Confidi Systema! is now a solid tool for facilitating access to credit, and its local network, which is close to businesses, is one of its strengths. This network adds value to the guarantee product by supporting businesses in choosing the most appropriate financial solutions for their projects and day-to-day management. We hope that the new regional governance will complete the Lombardy process of simplifying the Central Guarantee Fund (FCG) through the guarantee consortia, which will improve the outlook for micro and small enterprises. We are confident that the positive work done to date, together with the Associations and their agencies, can continue to support businesses in meeting new market challenges.”

“Agricultural businesses in Lombardy,” stated the President of Confagricoltura Lombardia, Antonio Boselli, “continue to show entrepreneurial vitality and a desire to invest. Offering them support for access to credit remains strategic, including for the full utilisation of the EU resources that will be made available by the Lombardy Region under the Rural Development Plan for structural investments between the second half of 2018 and the beginning of the new year.”

As at 31.12.2017

Total Assets

€ 208,606,802

Outstanding guaranteed loans

€ 950,863,851

Value of minibond subscriptions

€ 21,000,000

Gross non-performing loan provisioning

78 %

Cost/Income

65 %

Fondi propri al 31 dicembre 2017

€ 72.473.800

Total Capital Ratio

21,13 %

CET1 Capital Ratio

20,84 %

Attachments

• CS_L'Assemblea dei Soci approva il Bilancio 2017 di CONFIDI SYSTEMA!_def.pdf