The gross portfolio of “Altum” support instruments on December 31, 2023 was 1.102 billion euros, of which the portfolio of financial instruments was in the amount of 1.034 billion euros, which consisted of 35,260 projects.
Among them, the guarantee portfolio was in the amount of EUR 480 million with a total of 27,694 contracts, the loan portfolio was in the amount of EUR 359 million with 6,304 contracts, investments in venture capital funds were in the amount of EUR 97 million with a total of 208 fund-financed projects, as well as the Land Fund with EUR 97 million and for a total of 1054 transactions.
Since the beginning of the year, the portfolio of “Altum” financial instruments has grown by 70 million euros in terms of size and by 3.9% or 1335 projects in terms of number of projects.
The guarantee portfolio in 2023 slightly decreased compared to 2022 – by one million euros, while the number of transactions in the guarantee portfolio increased by 12.9%, or 2009 projects. In 2023, the amount of newly issued guarantees was 99 million euros compared to 153 million euros in 2022, the institution states.
The size of the loan portfolio in 2023 compared to 2022 increased by 15% or 47 million euros. The amount of newly issued loans in 2023 was 142 million euros, compared to 96 million euros in 2022.
The chairman of the board of “Altum” Reinis Bērziņš states that the year 2023 was marked by a series of challenges in the national economy, which was followed by a cautious and wait-and-see attitude of entrepreneurs and private individuals towards new investments. In these conditions, “Altum” continued active lending, where a great focus was on lending in the programs of the European Union (EU) Recovery Fund, in the large investment loan program, as well as introducing relief for specific customer segments.
This was also reflected in “Altum’s” loan portfolio, which grew by 15% during the year, as opposed to a slight decrease a year earlier. The amount of new transactions also increased last year – by 16% compared to 2022. The largest activity was in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises, and in general, the largest activity in loan instruments is for the implementation of energy efficiency and sustainability projects.
Bērziņš explains that good operating results in 2023 allowed “Altum” to introduce a series of offers for various customer segments – these are reliefs for both guarantee instruments and direct loans, including setting a 0% guarantee premium for sustainable projects and a 50% reduction of the guarantee premium for all merchant guarantees .
Also, the total loan rate for companies in the SME segment has been reduced by about half, as well as a loan rate of 3.5% has been set for farmers’ working capital, which created a great demand from farmers – 26 million euros have been allocated in these loans at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. This also affected the increase in the amount of loans in the portfolio of “Altum” in the segment of farmers in 2023. In the segment of individuals, “Altum” halved the guarantee fee in the housing guarantee program for young professionals.
“Altum” took an important step to activate lending by reducing collateral requirements for loans up to EUR 100,000 and reducing interest rates for several customer segments. Bērziņš points out that the impact of the relief on the volume of new transactions will be visible in 2024-2025, at the same time, there is already a lot of customer interest in the first months, and already in the first weeks, companies have submitted applications for financing in the amount of approximately 13 million euros, in addition, approximately 75% of the applications are from entrepreneurs in the regions.
Bērziņš adds that in 2023, the amount of financing given to entrepreneurs in the SME segment for the implementation of sustainable projects was significantly higher. Thus, in the segments of SMEs and private individuals, the total amount of new transactions contributing to the achievement of environmental goals was 60 million euros last year. The total planned impact of these projects exceeds 20,000 tons of CO2e reduction per year.
“Altum” worked with a profit of 11.484 million euros in 2022.
“Altum” is a state-owned capital company that provides support to certain target groups in the form of financial instruments (loans, guarantees, investments in venture capital funds, etc.), within the framework of specific programs, supplementing it with non-financial support (consulting, mentoring), with the help of financial instruments of state support. as well as implementing other functions delegated by the state.
In “Altum” capital, the Ministry of Finance holds 40% of the shares, the Ministry of Economy holds 30% of the shares, and the Ministry of Agriculture holds 30% of the shares. “Altum” bonds are included in the list of debt securities of “Nasdaq Riga” stock exchange.
