Catalan Institute of Finance (Institut Català de Finances - ICF)

The Group Institut Català de Finances (ICF - Catalan Finance Institute) is the public financial institution owned by the Government of Catalonia and  founded in 1985. ICF's mission is to foster and improve access to funding for enterprises in Catalonia in order to contribute to the growth of the region's economy, complementing the private financial sector. The institution offers companies a range of products and services in the area of corporate finance, focusing on loans and guarantees and venture capital investments. ICF is member of the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), which gathers the majority of public European banks and financial institutions.  ICF operates via a parent company, two subsidiaries (IFEM and ICF Capital) and an investee (AVALIS). ICF, through IFEM, supports the creation and growth of innovative start-up through the investment in venture capital funds for seed segment and co-investment with private investors through participative loans. ICF Capital, which manages closed-end UCITS and is authorized by Spain's National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), manages, nurtures and advises public and/or private funds or venture capital firms that provide capital to Catalan companies. At present, ICF Capital directly manages 3 venture capital firms: ICF Capital Expansió II, ICF Venture Tech II and BCN Emprèn. AVALIS de Catalunya SGR is a public-private reciprocal guarantee company supervised by the Bank of Spain. It provides financial guarantees vis-à-vis financial institutions to enterprises for investments and/or working capital, technical guarantees vis-à-vis public bodies for public tenders and contracts, and financial guarantees vis-à-vis third parties for clients, suppliers and creditors to guarantee obligations and payments. ICF and Avalis work together to provide guarantees and loans to companies.