The adoption in full of Proactive Credit management processes, to assist customers in potential difficulty, made it possible to promptly identify the first signs of tension so that 24,000 Italian companies could return to a performing loan position (over 52,000 since 2014) from a non-performing loan position in 2016 (use equal to 1,673 million euro).

The “2015 credit agreement”, signed on 31 March 2015 by ABI and main trade associations and in effect since 31 December 2017, includes targeted initiatives to access loans, for:

• recovering companies, with the possibility for all SMEs “in good standing” to suspend principal payments on their loans for a maximum of twelve months and extend the amortisation schedules of their mortgages and due dates of their short-term loans and credit for farm activities;
• developing companies, in support of the entrepreneurial projects of SMEs;
• companies and the Public Administration, for the factoring of companies' claims on the Public Administration.

Overall, transactions suspended in 2016 numbered 1,541 for a total residual debt of 725 million and 90 million euro in deferred debt. For the extensions, accepted applications were 136 for a total residual/deferred debt of 47 million, while recapitalisation loans were 36 for a total amount of 8 million. In 2016, Intesa Sanpaolo disbursed 582 loans through the “Imprese in sviluppo” (Business Development) initiative, for 222 million euro. The factoring of companies' claims on the Public Administration resulted in 46 loans for 1.3 million euro.

Intesa Sanpaolo cooperates with major Confidi organisations that issue guarantees (with 50% coverage on average) in favour of the Bank, facilitating businesses’ access to short, medium and long term financing for business and production activities. Agreements with Confidi organisations (particularly for the use of the Guarantee Fund pursuant to Law No. 662/96, which provides for operational development against a State guarantee, with a reduction in capital absorption for Banks and Confidi), had a beneficial impact in terms of price and/or the higher number of loans disbursed. In 2016, 14,400 loans guaranteed by Confidi were granted for a total of over one billion euro.

Since 2013, Intesa Sanpaolo has adopted specific processes and procedures for loan renegotiation, which enable SMEs in temporary financial difficulty to renegotiate loans, facilitating the sustainability of financing by extending the duration of the repayment plan for residual debt, so that repayments can be based on actual available cash flows. This allows for the prompt monitoring of positions which, despite being affected by temporary financial difficulties, show solid prospects of positive development.

During 2016, loans with payment arrears were renegotiated for over 2,500 Corporate customers and Retail Companies. In addition, 263 lease agreements for Corporate customers and 175 for Retail Companies were reviewed.

The adoption of new credit management processes made it possible to reduce net flows from performing to non-performing positions to 3.1 billion (down by 46% compared to 5.7 billion in 2015).