Assessment of Finnvera VN/167/2023

Invitation to tender Finnvera plc is a 100% state-owned specialised financing company (https://www.finnvera.fi/eng/finnvera). It complements the financial markets and promotes the development of regions, businesses and exports. Finnvera’s operations are guided by its special legislation and the Finnish government’s policy objectives, which include directing financing to promote the growth and internationalisation of companies, addressing market gaps in business financing and developing its operations so that new business financing challenges can be met efficiently and quickly. Finnvera must also take into account the state aid rules set by the EU and other international rules. In the long term the company’s operations are required to be self-sufficient. The company’s task is to correct deficiencies in the provision of financial services, which is why risk-sharing with other financiers is the main rule. The loans and guarantees granted by Finnvera improve and diversify access to financing, especially for SMEs. The State participates in compensating for the credit and guarantee losses of domestic financing intended for SMEs, which is why the company may take greater risks in its lending activities than banks. Finnvera and its subsidiary Finnish Export Credit ltd grant export financing. Export credit guarantees, loans and interest equalisation are mainly granted in accordance with the terms of the OECD’s Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits. Finnvera is Finland’s official export credit Agency (ECA). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for the company’s industrial policy and ownership steering. The purpose of the assignment is to assess the quality and impact of Finnvera’s operations and to make recommendations on the basis of the conclusions for the development of the company’s strategic goals and operations. In addition, the purpose of the assignment is to bring an insight into the green transition, as Finland has been a frontrunner in green transition solutions and public funding providers have a role to play in financing transition investments. The Ministry considers it important that special public financing institutions and instruments adopt a consistent approach to channelling funding to the green transition. The focus of the assignment is on domestic SME financing with respect to the quality and appropriateness of the services provided, and export financing business is only assessed as part of the company’s overall operations with respect to the areas listed below. Previous assessments of Finnvera’s operations can be found on Finnvera’s website (previous reports). (see the link in the Appendix 1 Background and descrpition of the procurement) See the Appendix 1 Background and description of the procurement