Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2024

21. Italy

Key facts on SME financing

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the business community, accounting for a large share of value added and employment.

The Italian economy experienced a more subdued expansion in 2022 after the sharp recovery of the previous year, which made up for two-thirds of the exceptional contraction that occurred during the pandemic. GDP growth was weighted down by heightened uncertainty following the large-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine, rising energy and food prices, and the shift towards tighter monetary policy.

Weak cyclical conditions swiftly affected credit markets: lending to SMEs came to a halt and eventually declined at a sustained pace, ending a period of expansion fuelled by support measures adopted during the pandemic. In early 2023, loans to large enterprises also began to contract slightly.

After remaining broadly relaxed during the pandemic, credit supply policies gradually tightened, partly as a result of banks’ higher perceived risk. Business borrowing rates rose, reflecting the process of monetary policy normalisation; however, collateral requirements remained stable and low by historical standards.

Credit quality remained good. The ratio of SME new non-performing loans to outstanding loans stood at a historically low level. The stock of non-performing exposures continued to decline, also as a result of the still high volume of disposals.

Equity financing for SMEs soared in the early stage segment, reaching an unprecedented peak since 2007, also thanks to a very active institutional entity investing in young companies with high growth prospects. Conversely, after the upsurge recorded in 2021, expansion capital declined for both SMEs and large companies alike.

Business-to-business payment delays reached a 15-year low in 2022, after falling well below pre-pandemic levels in the previous year. The widespread decline of the indicator was more pronounced for micro firms than for SMEs and large enterprises.

After the rise observed in 2021, judicial liquidations started to fall again, well below the pre-pandemic values, partly thanks to firm support measures and economic recovery. The Business Crisis and Insolvency Code finally entered into force in July 2022, with the aim of better tackling corporate crises.

Financial support measures, introduced or stepped up in recent years, continued to help firms cope with the heightened uncertainty surrounding the macroeconomic developments.

Credit guarantee schemes, which have traditionally played a key role in facilitating SME access to finance, were strengthened during the pandemic. The preferential programme for the granting of public guarantees by the Central Guarantee Fund and SACE was extended several times.

In application of the European Commission’s Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures in support of the economy following Russia’s war against Ukraine, further measures were introduced to address firms’ liquidity needs, including a new regulation on public guarantees until the end of 2022, providing for the granting of the Central Guarantee Fund and SACE guarantees to companies hit by a contraction of activity due to the consequences of the war, and an increase in the coverage of the Fund’s guarantees for financing aimed at improving the efficiency or diversification of energy production or consumption.

Table 21.1. Scoreboard for Italy

Indicator			Unit	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
		Debt
Outstanding business loans, SMEs			EUR billion	187	191	193	210	206	204	196	192	188	175	169	166	160	166	165	162
Outstanding business loans, total			EUR billion	998	1067	1057	1122	1134	1118	1061	1026	1016	984	959	960	931	984	992	983
Share of SME outstanding loans			% of total business loans	18.7	17.9	18.3	18.7	18.2	18.2	18.5	18.7	18.5	17.8	17.7	17.3	17.2	16.9	16.7	16.4
Short-term loans, SMEs			EUR billion	59	56	52	50	48	47	42	39	35	31	28	27	26	19	17	17
Long-term loans, SMEs			EUR billion	115	120	125	136	133	128	122	115	112	103	101	100	97	112	114	110
Total short and long-term loans, SMEs			EUR billion	174	177	177	186	181	175	164	154	147	134	129	127	123	131	132	127
Share of short-term loans, SMEs			% of total short and long-term SME loans	34.0	31.9	29.3	27.0	26.5	26.7	25.7	25.3	23.8	22.9	21.8	21.3	20.8	14.6	13.2	13.6
Direct government loans, SMEs			EUR million	337	373	255	276	273	252	390	597	392	418	431	439	633	1 338	3186	1658
Government guaranteed loans, SMEs (CGF)			EUR million, flows	2 300	2 353	4 914	9 119	8 378	8 190	10 811	12 935	15 065	16 703	17 462	19 314	19 376	124 387	93555	53860
Government loan guarantees, SMEs (CGF)			EUR million, flows	1 146	1 160	2 756	5 225	4 435	4 036	6 414	8 392	10 216	11 570	12 260	13 731	13 342	105 921	67642	42136
Non-performing loans, SMEs			EUR million	..	22 864	27 949	35 221	38 025	43 792	48 358	53 704	56 181	54 937	50 594	47 337	45 713	42 736	40436	40509
Non-performing loans, SMEs			% of total SME loans	..	12.0	14.5	16.8	18.4	21.5	24.6	28.0	30.0	31.4	29.9	28.6	28.5	25.7	24.5	25.1
Interest rate, SMEs			%	6.3	6.7	3.8	4.0	5.2	6.0	5.7	4.8	4.2	3.5	3.3	3.4	3.4	2.3	2.8	5.3
Interest rate, large firms			%	5.7	5.7	2.4	2.4	3.6	4.0	3.8	2.9	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.1	1.7	1.5	1.6	3.3
Interest rate spread			%	0.6	1.0	1.4	1.6	1.6	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.4	1.2	1.3	1.7	0.8	1.2	2.0
Collateral, SMEs			%	54	54	52	53	55	54	56	56	57	58	58	57	57	53	52	52
Rejection rate			% of firms reporting that they had not obtained some or all of the credit requested	3.1	8.2	6.9	5.7	11.3	12.0	8.9	8.4	6.0	4.0	4.2	4.6	4.1	5.8	2.8	2.6
Utilisation rate			SME loans used / authorised	79.7	80.7	80.7	82.8	84.4	86.6	87.2	87.7	87.4	85.3	85.0	85.4	84.7	83.4	84.1	84.5
		Non-bank finance
Venture capital investments (early stage), SMEs			EUR million	66	115	98	89	82	135	82	43	74	103	133	324	270	355	587	1179
Growth capital investments (expansion), SMEs			EUR million	295	440	260	263	500	504	438	230	170	155	161	125	143	133	325	204
Growth capital investments (expansion), total			EUR million	641	796	371	583	674	926	914	1179	333	710	337	816	896	354	858	483

 

Other indicators
Payment delays, B2B (all firms)	Average number of days	..	20.4	21.3	17.3	16.2	17.5	17.3	16.1	15.0	13.4	12.3	12.2	12.4	13.4	10.8	9.5
Bankruptcies, total	Number	6 168	7 510	9 373	11 241	12 163	12 549	14 133	15 690	14 745	13 535	12 081	11 258	11 162	7.650	9 037	7 207
Bankruptcies, total	%, Year-on-year growth rate	..	21.8	24.8	19.9	8.2	3.2	12.6	11.0	-6.0	-8.2	-10.7	-6.8	-0.9	-31.5	18.1	-20.3
Incidence of insolvency, total	per 10 000 enterprises	10.8	13.1	16.4	19.7	21.3	22.0	24.7	27.5	25.8	23.7	21.1	19.7	19.5	13.4	15.8	12.8

Source: See Table 21.2.

Macroeconomic and financing conditions

Following the sharp recovery in 2021, which made up for two-thirds of the exceptional contraction occurred during the COVID-19 crisis, the Italian economy continued to resume at a more subdued pace in 2022. GDP growth, initially boosted by the lifting of the containment measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic, began to slow owing to global strains and uncertainty stemming from the conflict in Ukraine.

Production continued to expand in services, mainly due to strong growth in some of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, and in construction, partly helped by public support measures. Manufacturing remained broadly flat, dampened to some extent by significantly higher energy costs. Investment continued to increase on average over the year.

Inflation, fuelled by soaring energy and food commodities prices, rose markedly, accompanied by a swift tightening of monetary policy: from the summer of 2022 onwards, the ECB rapidly raised key interest rates. Monetary conditions continued to tighten in the early months of 2023, as inflation remained high. Against this background, lending to firms slowed in 2022 and ultimately started contracting, amid weak growth and high uncertainty.

SMEs in the national economy

Small and medium-sized enterprises account for 99.9% of Italian businesses; the share of micro-firms exceeds 95% (See Table 21.2). In 2021, SMEs employed around 80% of the industrial and service labour force and generated about two-thirds of turnover and value added (see Figure 21.1).

Table 21.2. Distribution of firms in Italy, 2021

Firm size (employees)	Total active enterprises1		Of which according to the SBS Regulation (No 295/2008)2
	Number	%	Number	%
All firms	4 359 407	100	3 695 017	100
SMEs (up to 249)	4 355 204	99.9	3 691 232	99.9
Micro (up to 9)	4 143 750	95.1	3 494 839	94.6
Small (10-49)	188 269	4.3	175 453	4.7
Medium (50-249)	23 185	0.5	20 940	0.6
Large (250+)	4 203	0.1	3 785	0.1

Note: 1. Financial and insurance activities are excluded. 2. Data include all market activities in Sections B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, L, M, N of the common statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community as established by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 (Nace Rev. 2). Data include firms with and without employees.

Source: Istat.

Figure 21.1. Firms, turnover and value added in Italy, 2021

As a percentage

Source: Istat.

Statlink

Box 21.1. Definition of SMEs used in Italy’s SME and Entrepreneurship Finance Scoreboard

Country definition

In accordance with Eurostat standards, the Italian National Institute of Statistics defines small and medium enterprises the firms with fewer than 250 employees. In detail, micro-enterprises and small firms have, respectively, less than 10 and 10-49 employees, while medium-sized enterprises are defined as those with 50-249 employees.

The SME definition used by financial institutions

The Bank of Italy classifies data on business lending by firm size: small firms are defined as limited partnerships, general partnerships, informal partnerships, de facto companies and sole proprietorships with fewer than 20 workers. This data disaggregation has been used for most indicators on the debt side.

SME lending

Growth in bank lending to SMEs came to a halt in 2022 and eventually contracted, ending a long period of expansion that started in 2020 and was boosted by support measures adopted during the pandemic. In early 2023, loans to SMEs continued to decline at a sustained pace, also as a result of higher borrowing costs and lower investment financing needs; credit to large enterprises began to shrink (see Figure 21.2). The share of SME loans in total business loans fell further to 16.4%, a new low since 2007. Loan maturity trends confirm the clear shift from short-term to long-term lending observed in recent years, likely reflecting the need to cope with uncertain economic prospects.

Figure 21.2. Lending in Italy, 2007-23

Year-on-year change, as a percentage

Source: Bank of Italy.

Statlink

Credit conditions

Lending standards gradually tightened in 2022 and the first part of 2023, after remaining broadly relaxed during the pandemic. Based on Italian banks’ responses to the euro-area bank lending survey, the more selective credit policies were driven by a higher risk perception coupled with a lower tolerance, which was reflected in a deterioration in the terms and conditions applied to loan agreements (see Figure 21.3).

Figure 21.3. Credit conditions for SMEs and large firms in Italy, 2007-23

Diffusion index

Note: SMEs have an annual net turnover of up to EUR 50 million. The dates reported in the table coincide with the month following the quarter covered by the survey.

Source: Euro area Bank Lending Survey.

Statlink

However, according to the Bank of Italy’s Survey on Industrial and Service Firms, in 2022 the rejection rate, measured as the share of SMEs reporting that they had not received some or all of the credit requested, plummeted to 2.6%, the lowest level in the last fifteen years and more than 3 percentage points lower than the value reached two years earlier during the COVID-19 crisis.

Business borrowing rates rose significantly for SMEs and, to a lesser extent, for large enterprises, reflecting the process of monetary policy normalisation. As a result, the interest rate spread between the average SME and large enterprise rate widened in 2022.

Collateral requirements remained stable compared to the previous year but low by historical standards: in 2022, 52% of SME loans were backed by real guarantees, the lowest level since 2007 and only equal to that recorded in 2009.

Credit quality remained good. In the last two years, the ratio of SME new non-performing loans (NPLs, which include bad debts) to outstanding loans stood at a particularly low level by historical standards (see Figure 21.4). The stock of non-performing exposures declined further, also as a result of the still high volume of disposals. The development of a secondary market for NPLs and improvements in insolvency, debt restructuring and debt enforcement systems contributed to their successful reduction.

Figure 21.4. Ratio of new NPLs to outstanding loans in Italy, 2007-23

Quarterly flows of NPLs as a percentage of the stock of performing loans at the end of the previous quarter

Source: Bank of Italy.

Statlink

Alternative sources of SME financing

Total early stage and expansion capital investment increased moderately in 2022, following sustained growth in the previous year (see Table 21.3). Resources directed to small and medium-sized enterprises soared in the early stage segment, doubling compared to 2021 and reaching an unprecedented peak since 2007. This trend was also due to the activities of Fondo Nazionale Innovazione (CDP Venture Capital Sgr), a very active institutional entity, which invested both directly and through new and existing closed-end funds in young companies with high growth prospects. More than a tenth of early stage funding came from public investors. The sustained increase observed in the first year of the pandemic was thus consolidated. Conversely, after the upsurge observed in 2021, expansion capital declined for both SMEs and large firms alike.

Table 21.3. Early stage and expansion capital in Italy, 2007-22

In EUR million

 

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
0-9	110	111	99	141	95	156	290	61	117	75	54	102	96	151	287	312
10-19	39	121	30	24	35	29	26	7	8	19	13	27	72	55	58	127
20-99	80	243	136	113	182	326	116	189	97	63	179	302	145	240	272	356
100-199	114	57	65	73	212	62	65	15	19	102	32	16	95	36	276	476
200-249	18	24	28	2	59	65	23	1	4	1	16	2	5	6	18	112
SMEs sub-total	361	556	358	352	582	639	520	273	244	259	294	449	413	488	912	1383
250-499	52	98	19	27	24	50	195	43	44	80	81	159	3	62	117	35
500-999	114	65	26	12	48	123	67	218	10	5	15	404	52	51	216	61
1 000-4 999	180	27	66	268	100	205	94	587	109	10	80	48	449	131	168	183
>5 000	-	165	-	14	3	44	120	101	-	459	-	80	250	-	32	-
Total	707	911	469	672	756	1061	996	1222	407	813	470	1140	1167	731	1445	1661

Source: AIFI-PwC.

New stock market listings, which had doubled in 2021 compared to the previous year reaching levels well above the pre-pandemic period, returned to the average values recorded in the three years before the start of the public health emergency. Transactions were concentrated on Euronext Growth Milan (formerly known as AIM Italy), the market segment devoted to small and medium-sized companies.

Fundraising through online financing channels remained very limited, despite growth in recent years, partly due to the accelerated use of digital platforms during the pandemic crisis. Direct lending, which allows SMEs to diversify their available sources of finance, increased in 2022. However, equity crowdfunding, which enables SMEs to raise capital via dedicated online platforms and mainly finances innovative start-ups, remained restricted in volume, as did lending crowdfunding.

Other indicators

After falling well below pre-pandemic levels in 2021, business-to-business payment delays reached their lowest level since 2008 in the following year. According to Payline database, which tracks the transactions of more than three million Italian companies, the decline in the indicator, which was widespread across all size classes, was more pronounced for micro firms (10.3 days, down from 12.1 in 2021) than for SMEs and large enterprises (7.3 and 11.2 respectively, down from 7.8 and 12.5; see Table 21.4).

Table 21.4. Payment delays in Italy, 2008-22

Average number of days

		2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Payment delays, micro-firms	Average number of days	15.7	17.0	16.9	15.7	17.3	16.4	15.7	15.0	13.7	12.9	13.0	13.0	14.6	12.1	10.3
Payment delays, SMEs	Average number of days	13.3	15.2	13.1	11.6	12.7	13.1	12.5	11.4	9.8	9.1	9.3	9.7	10.9	7.8	7.3
Payment delays, large firms	Average number of days	22.7	23.5	19.1	18.2	20.3	19.6	18.8	18.4	16.6	15.1	14.7	14.5	15.0	12.5	11.2

Source: Cerved, Payline database.

After the upswing observed in 2021, just over 7 000 liquidation proceedings were opened in 2022 (see Figure 21.5), marking the lowest level recorded in the last fifteen years, far below the pre-pandemic figures. The sharp decline in the number of business failures can be partly attributable to firm support measures and the economic recovery.

The Business Crisis and Insolvency Code1 (Codice della crisi d’impresa e dell’insolvenza), aimed at better tackling corporate crises, finally entered into force in July 2022. It provides for a strengthened alert system, based both on the duties of management and supervisory bodies and on alerts from qualified public creditors. The Code includes the new provisions on the negotiated settlement of the enterprise crisis, introduced by Decree Law 118/2021, simplifies the procedures by which insolvent entrepreneurs can get rid of unsatisfied debts during judicial liquidation and increases debtors’ discretion in formulating business continuity plans, while at the same time strengthening creditor protections.

Figure 21.5. Bankruptcies in Italy, 2007-22

Number; year-on-year change

Source: Cerved.

Statlink

Government policy response

Financial support measures, introduced or stepped up in last years, continued to help firms cope with the heightened uncertainty surrounding the macroeconomic developments.

Since 2020, credit to firms has been extensively supported by the strengthening of public guarantee schemes and the debt moratorium for SMEs introduced by the Government in response to the pandemic crisis (see Figure 21.6). The preferential programme for the granting of public guarantees by the Central Guarantee Fund and SACE has been extended several times. In 2021, in order to facilitate the gradual return to the ordinary regime, the conditions for the granting of guarantees by the Fund were tightened. The guarantee coverage has been reduced from 90 per cent to 80 per cent for guaranteed loans up to EUR 5 million and gradually from 100 per cent to 80 per cent for guaranteed loans up to EUR 30,000. In addition, the provision on the maximum interest rate applicable for guaranteed loans up to EUR 30,000 has been removed.

Figure 21.6. The activity of the Central Guarantee Fund for SMEs in Italy, 2007-22

Flows, in EUR million

Source: MedioCredito Centrale.

Statlink

In 2022, the Government again amended the rules on public guarantees to support companies’ liquidity needs arising from growing difficulties over supplies of commodities and intermediate inputs. The process of gradual phasing out from the extraordinary regime outlined in 2021 therefore slowed down. The most important measures were the extension of the State guarantee schemes, under the same preferential conditions, in favour of companies facing liquidity needs due to the increase in energy prices, and the possibility of deferring the repayment of principal for up to six months for loans of up to EUR 30,000 guaranteed by the Central Guarantee Fund. In addition, support initiatives were designed for businesses particularly affected by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and for companies exporting to countries involved in the conflict. Finally, in application of the European Commission’s Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures in support of the economy following Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine, further measures were introduced to meet firms’ liquidity needs. Some initiatives included a new regulation on public guarantees until the end of 2022, providing for the granting of the Central Guarantee Fund and SACE guarantees to companies hit by a contraction of activity due to the consequences of the war, and an increase in the coverage of the Fund’s guarantees for financing aimed at improving the efficiency or diversification of energy production or consumption.

As of the end of June 2022, the possibility of using public guarantee schemes introduced in 2020 in response to the pandemic ended. The framework was subsequently modified several times to support liquidity needs arising from difficulties in the supply of inputs and rising energy, petrol and raw material prices. To address the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine, new guarantee schemes were introduced, which companies can access until 31 December 2023.

In the broader landscape of government policy response to the crisis and, at the same time, to the challenge of the ‘twin transition’, Italian public institutions also introduced or strengthened interventions specifically dedicated to start-ups and innovative SMEs. The National Innovation Fund (CDP Venture Capital Sgr) was set out in the 2019 Budget Law to streamline public resources devoted to innovation, while acting as a catalyst for private and international capital. With an initial endowment of EUR 1 billion, it now manages assets worth more than EUR 3 billion.

In 2022, CDP Venture Capital Sgr also began managing the Digital Transition Fund and the Green Transition Fund, funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, part of the NextGenerationEU programme. With a budget of around EUR 300 million, the Digital Transition Fund aims to promote the digital transformation of supply chains through direct and indirect venture capital investments, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence, cloud, healthcare, 4.0 industry, cybersecurity, fintech and blockchain.

The Green Transition Fund supports the growth of an innovation ecosystem through direct and indirect venture capital investments in green transition sectors, such as renewable energy, circular economy, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, waste management and energy storage, mobilising EUR 250 million.

Figure 21.7. Trends in SME and entrepreneurship finance in Italy

Source: See Table 21.1

Statlink

Table 21.5. Sources and definitions of Italy’s Scoreboard

Indicator	Definition	Source
Debt
Business loans, total	Outstanding loans (stocks, including repos) by banks and other financial institutions. For bank loans: bad loans including factoring from Q408. For other financial intermediaries’ loans: bad loans including factoring. As of June 2010, loans include securitised, or otherwise transferred, loans.	Bank of Italy, Supervisory returns (for bank loans) and Central Credit Register (for other financial intermediaries loans; subject to reporting threshold: as of January 2009, the reporting threshold for loans and guarantees, which was previously set to EUR 75 000, has been lowered to EUR 30 000; no threshold applies for reporting bad loans); supply side data sets
Business loans, SMEs	Outstanding loans (stocks, including repos) by banks and other financial institutions. For bank loans: bad loans including factoring from Q408. For other financial intermediaries’ loans: bad loans including factoring. As of June 2010, loans include securitised, or otherwise transferred, loans.	Bank of Italy, Supervisory returns (for bank loans) and Central Credit Register (for other financial intermediaries loans; subject to reporting threshold)
Short-term loans, SMEs	Loans (including repos); maturity up to 12 months (up to 18 months until Q308 for data drawn from supervisory returns and until Q109 for data drawn from the Central Credit Register).	Bank of Italy, Supervisory returns (for bank loans) and Central Credit Register (for other financial intermediaries loans; subject to reporting threshold)
Long-term loans, SMEs	Loans (including repos); maturity more than 12 months (more than 18 months until Q308 for data drawn from supervisory returns and until Q109 for data drawn from the Central Credit Register).	Bank of Italy, Supervisory returns (for bank loans) and Central Credit Register (for other financial intermediaries loans; subject to reporting threshold)
Direct government loans, SMEs	Sum of direct loans granted to SMEs (firms with less than 250 employees) by the Italian government.	Ministry of Economic Development
Government guaranteed loans, CGF	Government guaranteed loans to SMEs (firms with less than 250 employees) by the Central Guarantee Fund.	Central Guarantee Fund – MedioCredito Centrale (MCC)
Government loan guarantees, CGF	Government loan guarantees to SMEs (firms with less than 250 employees) by the Central Guarantee Fund.	Central Guarantee Fund – MedioCredito Centrale (MCC)
Non-performing loans, SMEs	Bank and other intermediaries’ non-performing loans. Non-performing loans include bad loans, unlikely to pay, and non-performing past-due and/or overdrawn exposures. From 2010 bad loans include securitisations. For bank non-performing loans: including factoring from Q408. For other financial intermediaries’, non-performing loans including factoring.	Bank of Italy, Supervisory returns (for bank non-performing loans) and Central Credit Register (for other financial intermediaries non-performing loans).
Interest rate, average SME rate	Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (i.e. including fees and commissions) on new term loans.	Bank of Italy, AnaCredit, for 2019. Data refer to the interest rates charged to non-bank customers for the following transactions: credit lines other than revolving credit, reverse repurchase agreements, finance leases, other loans. The reporting threshold equals or exceeds EUR 25 000. Bank of Italy, Survey of lending rates, for 2007-2018. The survey refers to the rates charged to non-bank customers for the following transactions: matched loans, term loans and revocable loans, provided the sum of the amounts of the above forms of financing granted or used reported to the Central Credit Register equals or exceeds EUR 75 000.
Interest rate spread (between average SME and large firm rate)	Spread between average interest rate charged to SMEs and large firms. Annual figures taken from fourth quarter of the respective year.	Bank of Italy, AnaCredit, for 2019. Bank of Italy, Survey of lending rates, for 2007-2018.
Collateral, SMEs	Percentage of SME bank and other financial intermediaries’ loans backed by real guarantees.	Central Credit Register, subject to reporting threshold
Rejection rate, SMEs	Percentage of SMEs (defined as firms with 20-249 employees) reporting they did not obtain the requested amount in full.	Bank of Italy, Survey of Industrial and Service Firms
Loans authorised, SMEs	Sum of the loan facilities granted to each borrower by all the intermediaries reporting to the Central Credit Register.	Bank of Italy, Central Credit Register (subject to reporting threshold)
Loans used, SMEs	Sum of the loan facilities disbursed to each borrower by all the intermediaries reporting to the Central Credit Register.	Bank of Italy, Central Credit Register (subject to reporting threshold)
Non-bank finance
Venture capital investments (seed and early stage), SMEs	Amounts invested in SMEs (defined as firms with less than 250 employees). Data include seed and early stage.	A I F I – Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association; supply-side survey
Growth capital investments (expansion), SMEs	Amounts invested in SMEs (defined as firms with less than 250 employees). Data include expansion phase, not turnaround or buyout/ replacement stages.	A I F I – Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association; supply-side survey
Growth capital investments (expansion), total	Amounts invested in firms of all sizes. Data include expansion phase, not turnaround or buyout/ replacement stages.	A I F I – Italian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association; supply-side survey
Other indicators
Payment delays, all firms	Average payment delay in days for business-to-business, all firms.	Cerved, Payline database
Payment delays, micro-firms	Average payment delay in days for business-to-business, micro-firms (defined as firms with turnover of less than EUR 2 million and less than 10 employees).	Cerved, Payline database
Payment delays, SMEs	Average payment delay in days for business-to-business, SMEs [defined as firms with turnover between EUR 2 million and EUR 50 million (or with assets between EUR 2 million and EUR 43 million) and between 10 and 249 employees].	Cerved, Payline database
Payment delays, large firms	Average payment delays in days for business-to-business, large firms [defined as firms with turnover exceeding EUR 50 million (or with assets exceeding 43 million) and at least 250 employees].	Cerved, Payline database
Bankruptcies, total	In accordance with the Business Crisis and Insolvency Code, the data for 2022 include, in addition to the bankruptcy procedures, two others: ‘judicial liquidations' (which will replace 'bankruptcy' in the long term) and 'controlled liquidations'. All enterprises.	Cerved

References

Bank of Italy (2022a), Annual Report for 2021, Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders, Rome.

Banca d'Italia - Relazione annuale sul 2021 (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy (2022b), Financial Stability Report, November 2022, Rome.

Bank of Italy - Financial Stability Report, No. 2 - 2022 (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy (2023a), Financial Stability Report, April 2023, Rome.

Bank of Italy - Financial Stability Report, No. 1 - 2023 (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy (2023b), Annual Report for 2022, Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders, Rome.

Bank of Italy - Annual Report for 2022 (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy (2023c), Bank Lending Survey, Rome.

Bank of Italy - Bank Lending Survey (BLS) (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy (2023d), Survey of Industrial and Service Firms in 2022, Rome.

Bank of Italy - Survey of Industrial and Service Firms (bancaditalia.it)

Bank of Italy, Economic Bulletin, various issues, Rome.

S. De Mitri, A. De Socio, V. Nigro, S. Pastorelli (2021), Financial support measures and credit to firms during the pandemic, Bank of Italy, Occasional Papers, No. 665, December.

Note

← 1.  The Business Crisis and insolvency Code renamed the ‘bankruptcy’ into ‘judicial liquidation’.