The Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO) and the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) have signed a new cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening the financing of business and investment projects in Catalonia included in the investment strategy España Crece, with a special focus on access to housing and on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The agreement, signed last 28 October and released this Monday in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), sets the framework for the Generalitat’s financial entity to participate both in the ICO’s intermediated financing lines and in the direct co-financing of initiatives included in this strategy within the Catalan scope.
With regard to intermediated financing, the ICO undertakes to promote the adjustments and agreements necessary so that the ICF can be recognized as an eligible financial intermediary in the current mediation lines it manages and in which it may launch more lines later.
In parallel, the ICF will request its classification as an eligible intermediary entity in those lines that fit with its functions and institutional objectives.
To meet this objective, during 2026 the ICF must put in place the relevant operational measures, in particular the updating of its technological systems, so that it can operate in an integrated manner with the ICO.
The agreement also provides that both institutions will cooperate in the direct financing of projects linked to España Crece in Catalonia.
To this end, they will sign specific agreements that make it possible to identify, publicize and channel proposals that may be eligible for this type of financial support.
In these operations, the ICF will have the possibility of providing complementary financing to initiatives that the ICO considers eligible, in addition to joining other forms of collaboration that may be established.
The text specifies that each entity will use its own resources, independently approve its portion of the loan or credit, and bear the risk of the operation on its own balance sheet.
An agreement with four years of validity
To structure and coordinate the execution of this cooperation, the ICO and the ICF will set up a technical working group made up of two representatives from each institution, with advisory functions and no decision-making powers.
They will also create a monitoring commission made up of four people, two from each body, which will meet at least twice a year with the aim of reviewing and supervising the implementation of the agreement.
The agreement will have a duration of four years from its registration in the State Electronic Registry of Bodies and Instruments of Cooperation of the State Public Sector, with the option of being extended by unanimous agreement of the parties within the limits provided for by the regulations.
The agreement does not include a joint budget, so each body will individually assume the expenses and costs arising from the obligations that result from its participation.