MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund

The €8 million MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund is a loan guarantee fund aimed at making it easier for film producers to gain access to bank financing. The fund has €8 million over four years (2010 – 2013) and is run for the Commission by two operators with a long-standing expertise in this area: the French Institute for the Financing of Cinema and Cultural Industries (Institut pour le Financement du Cinéma et des Industries Culturelles, ('IFCIC') and Spain's Guarantee Society for the Audiovisual Sector (Sociedad de Garantia reciproca para el Sector Audiovisual, 'Audiovisual SGR'). The Commission estimates that, thanks to the leveraging effect of the Fund, more than €100 million will be freed up for loans to film producers, many of whom are small or medium-sized businesses.

The guarantee can be used for discounting contracts and cashflowing projects. In the event of a default, a bank would be able to recover up to 55% of its loan from IFCIC and up to 50% from Audiovisual SGR, with funding from their own resources and from the MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund. Film producers will be eligible for support from the Fund if they are established in any of the 32 European countries that currently participate in the MEDIA Programme. Full details about the MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund are available on the IFCIC and Audiovisual SGR websites.