Spain’s national guarantee system powered by the Confederation of Mutual Guarantee Societies injected a total of 2,273 million euros in 2022, supporting 22,389 new formalized guarantees for small and medium enterprises and the self-employed. The enhanced funding underscores a 16% rise from 2021, when 1,960 million euros were committed. The guarantees facilitated active loans totaling 7,093 million euros, benefiting roughly 169,835 SMEs and self-employed individuals, and helped sustain around 960,044 jobs. [Cesgar, 2023]
Cesgar projects a strong 2023, with 18 mutual guarantee societies (SGRs) aiming to deliver 2.5 billion euros to SMEs and the self-employed. The objective is to continue supporting firms, many of which have faced consequences from the Ukraine war and related disruptions. [Cesgar, 2023]
Jose Pedro Salcedo, chairman of SGR-Cesgar, emphasized the guarantee system as a foundational layer of support for many small and medium-sized companies. He noted that strengthened collateral through the Spanish Regarantee Company (Cersa), aided by Next Generation Funds, has enabled subsidized lines and ongoing extensions of maturities, particularly in the areas of digitalization, sustainability, and addressing funding gaps. [Cesgar, 2023]
Salcedo described the guarantee network as a pivotal instrument that expands banking institution collaboration and the practical ties among companies. He cited a study showing that the involvement of intermediary guarantee structures is essential to broaden knowledge about guarantee mechanisms among SMEs and the self-employed. [Cesgar, 2023]
Collateral Types and Sectors
In 2022, financial guarantees accounted for 86% of financing requests from SMEs and the self-employed. Within this category, investment guarantees saw the strongest demand, rising 13.2 percentage points to reach 54.7%. Working capital guarantees represented 27.9% of the total, marking a 14.7-point decrease from the prior period. [Cesgar, 2023]
Cesgar highlights that demand for investment guarantees surpassed pre-pandemic levels, signaling robust confidence in capital expenditures. Conversely, working capital guarantees declined toward 2019 levels, indicating tighter liquidity needs. [Cesgar, 2023]
Looking at sectoral activity, services led with 41.7% of operations, followed by a roughly 11-point increase in guarantees for industry, which accounted for about 27.1% of the total amount financed. Trade guarantees represented 17.2% of transactions, construction 9.1% of the financing amount, and the primary sector 4.8% of the total operations. [Cesgar, 2023]
Most 2022 operations were supported by a guarantee company, comprising 89% of cases, with many debts and loans amortized over more than three years. The average guarantee amount for financed operations stood at 135,718 euros in 2022, with micro-SMEs (one to ten employees) receiving 80% of the guarantees. Additionally, about 22.7% of new guarantees targeted new ventures or first-time entrepreneurs. [Cesgar, 2023]
Since its 2017 inception, the online platform Guarantee Yes has processed over 100,000 applications, totaling 11.8 billion euros in guarantees. [Cesgar, 2023]