Applications for subsidies against expensive mortgages for businesses will begin from October 11 in the Region.

Last Updated: May 21, 2025

Regione, dall'11 ottobre il via alle domande per le agevolazioni contro il caro mutuo alle imprese

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Tomorrow, Friday, October 11th, an announcement regulating the request for aid against high mortgages for businesses will be published on the Irfis FinSicilia website. The process starts after the signature of the decree by the regional Economy assessor, Alessandro Dagnino, activating a measure worth 45 million euros, as desired by the Schifani government.

Companies can submit their requests starting from November 12th on the regional finance platform. They have one month to submit their applications. The platform will close on December 12th, and then the evaluation of the requests will take place. The allocation of resources to eligible recipients is planned within the first quarter of 2025.

The decree’s signing, following approval from the regional government and positive feedback from the Budget Commission of the Regional Assembly, comes after shared discussions with the Productive Activities assessor, Edy Tamajo.

“Sustaining the productive sector is a priority for our government,” Renato Schifani, the President of the Region, said. “We have implemented a measure that aims to reduce the increase in interest rates of variable-rate mortgages for Sicilian entrepreneurs. The success of the measure against high mortgage costs for families in recent months has confirmed that we are on the right track to mitigate the effects of inflation and the rising cost of living.”

“The measure,” Dagnino added, “is part of a broader range of interventions by the regional government in support of businesses, including aid to compensate for the negative economic situation of recent years and incentives, soon to be adopted, to strengthen the regional production system.”

“Irfis is ready to support the Island’s productive system to implement this government-initiated measure endorsed by the Regional Assembly,” stated Iolanda Riolo, President of Irfis FinSicilia.

One of the measures on which the Schifani government has heavily invested will thus be realized, following a similar aid granted to families in 2023. Companies that took out and paid off mortgages in 2023, still active on January 1st of this year, can apply. Loans applied for and obtained in the last 9 months are also eligible.

The Region will grant a 10,000 euro contribution per company through its credit institution. The call for proposals covers 30% of the interest costs, as long as the rate is above 1%. This is unlikely, as, similar to loans for families, the cost of money for businesses has increased to unbearable levels in some cases.

Based on the current budget, the government will be able to fund 4,500 companies. However, there is the possibility of refinancing the law and launching a second wave of aid. This possibility is being worked on in the preparation of the 2025 Budget. The call prepared by Irfis includes a ranking that gives more weight to “the nominal rate applied on the last payment expired in 2023.” The second parameter is the amount of interest, and the third is that the applying company must have its headquarters in Sicily.

Applicants must declare that they have not omitted to report extortion attempts or requests for usurious rates on loans by criminal organizations or individuals in the last three years before applying. This means that if an entrepreneur, even not under investigation, has been found to pay protection money in an investigation, they cannot now request aid from the Region to reduce mortgage costs. Additionally, for the future, entrepreneurs must sign a document committing to report any extortion attempts received after submitting the application or receiving aid.