FAQ – Applying for financing

Please contact your bank first. Financing is often arranged with the bank with Finnvera's guarantee. If you would like to discuss financing options that are suitable for your company with Finnvera, contact our customer service.

A partial guarantee provided by Finnvera may help you to get financing from a bank.

The Start Guarantee is intended for starting SMEs whose registration in the Trade Register has been limited to three years and whose owners are natural persons. In turn, the SME Guarantee is intended for enterprises aiming for growth that comply with the EU SME definition.

The bank applies for the Start Guarantee on your enterprise’s behalf and you do not need to contact Finnvera yourself.

If the Start Guarantee or the SME Guarantee are not suitable for financing your project, the provider of financing can apply for a Finnvera Guarantee on your behalf. The Finnvera Guarantee is intended for use as guarantee for various domestic financing needs of SMEs, such as investments and/or working capital and financing required by business or enterprise acquisitions. You can also fill in the financing application yourself in our online service.

We recommend that you first apply for financing from your own bank. However, if you are seeking a loan from a bank but do not have the collateral required by the bank, a partial guarantee provided by Finnvera may be the solution.

The Start Guarantee and the SME Guarantee are guarantees that the bank applies on behalf of your company, and you do not need to contact Finnvera yourself.

If the Start Guarantee or the SME Guarantee is not suitable for financing your project, the bank or company can apply for a Finnvera Guarantee.

The greatest difference between banks and Finnvera's financing is in the collateral practice. Banks' lending is largely based on collateral, while Finnvera's financing decision is based on assessing the company's chances of success. If the company's chances of success are considered sufficient, Finnvera has the chance to take a higher securities risk than banks.

However, Finnvera does not compete with banks as a provider of financing. Our role is to complement the corporate financing market. Finnvera's role in financing the company is also always temporary. In the long term, we aim to ensure that companies receive the financing they need from the open market.

Finnvera complements the financial market and does not compete as a provider of financing with other providers of financing, but shares the risks associated with financing.

Your company does not need to be operational when you submit your financing application. You can send the application in the name of the company you are planning to set up.

However, the financing documents can be drawn up and the financing can come into effect only after your company has been registered with the Trade Register.

Finnvera can also provide financing for part-time entrepreneurs. As with all other companies, we assess your prospects expecting that you are able to manage your business on a profitable basis.

The financing applicant who authenticates themselves in our online service must be a person in charge at their company and have the authority to sign on behalf of the company, or be the owner of a company being established. The company’s contact person named in the financing application can be any of the aforementioned or a company employee who has been given a power of attorney.

This requirement concerning the applicant and the contact person is specifically based on Finnvera’s obligation to check when making financing decisions and the duty to know the customer as defined by the money laundering regulations.

Finnvera may also grant financing for companies operating in Finland that are owned by foreign citizens. In such cases, you must give your date of birth instead of your personal identity code when submitting a financing application.

The permits required for business operations vary by country. Before providing the financing, Finnvera checks the validity of the residence permit of an entrepreneur coming from outside the EU or the EEA.

For more information about the permits, visit the websites of the Finnish Immigration Service and the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Suomen Asiakastieto (www.asiakastieto.fi) classifies Finnish companies using the Rating Alfa rating system. The rating is based on a real-time, seven-tier (AAA–C) Rating Alfa rating system. The primary objective of the rating is to predict the likelihood of a company experiencing financial difficulties within the next 12 months.

The credit rating is influenced by background information on the company, such as payment behaviour, defaults, financial data and financial statements.

In its rating models, Asiakastieto processes data from multiple sources, including the Finnish Patent and Registration Office, the Finnish Tax Administration, the Business Information System (YTJ), Statistics Finland, companies’ own data, and Asiakastieto’s own database.

Companies covered by the rating

Rating Alfa is available for companies registered in the Trade Register, including private limited liability companies, public limited companies, limited partnerships, general partnerships, cooperatives, housing companies, and sole traders, where the personal identity code of the business owner and the industry classification are available. Rating Alfa is also available for foundations and associations registered in the Business Information System (YTJ).

The Rating Alfa rating is not provided for companies not registered in the Trade Register, banks or insurance companies, dissolved or merged companies, companies subject to a demerger or restructuring decision, or companies that have filed for bankruptcy and/or have been declared bankrupt.

Before making the financing decision, we examine your company's chances of success on the markets and the adequacy of the overall financing.

We assess your company's targets, development plans, your training and experience as an entrepreneur, and your ability to manage the business successfully. The factors affecting the decision include particularly the company's overall financing needs and the entrepreneur's knowledge of the sector and the local competitive situation. We expect that your company is able to operate on a profitable basis. We always check the credit record of the company and the applicants/responsible persons in a limited company.

Typically, Finnvera's contribution will be 50 per cent of the project's external financing (Finnvera and the bank combined).

When a Start Guarantee (start-up companies) is used, Finnvera's guarantee coverage can be at most 80 per cent of the loan granted by the bank. However, the total sum granted to one enterprise may not exceed EUR 80,000. When an SME Guarantee is used, Finnvera's guarantee coverage will always be 80 per cent of the loan granted by the bank. However, the total sum granted to one enterprise may not exceed EUR 200,000. In Finnvera Guarantee, our guarantee share is usually 50–80 per cent, depending on the project.

For a preliminary idea of your financing possibilities, you can call our customer service at +358 29 460 2582.

The Start Guarantee and the SME Guarantee can be used to finance a company without a self-financing contribution. Otherwise, the self-financing required from companies depends on the content of the project. In investments, Finnvera typically requires that about 15 per cent of the financing is provided as self-financing by the company, while in company acquisitions and generational transfers the requirement is 20 per cent.

An Entrepreneur Loan, which is a loan granted personally to an entrepreneur, does not require self-financing from the entrepreneur. However, the self-financing share is always recommended.

The minimum limit for Finnvera's guarantees is EUR 10,000 and the minimum limit for loan financing is EUR 50,000. However, this does not apply to an entrepreneur loan granted personally to an entrepreneur with a minimum limit of EUR 20,000. The minimum amount for the Climate and Environmental Loan and the Digitalisation and Innovation Loan under the InvestEU programme is 150,000 euros.

The price of Finnvera's financing is customer-specific. The price depends on such factors as the profitability and financial standing of your company, operational risks and loan collateral. The interest rate is given in the financing offer.

Finnvera uses the six-month Euribor as the reference rate for its financing.

The interest rate of the Entrepreneur Loan is always six-month Euribor + a margin of 3.75 per cent.

When processing financing applications, we always check the credit record of the applicant company and the responsible persons. Payment defaults are a serious matter and may lead to the rejection of the application.

Neither the company nor the responsible persons may have a payment default entry in the Start Guarantee and SME Guarantee. In their business connections, the responsible persons must not have any bankruptcy entries or involvement in partnerships with payment default entries. A Finnvera Guarantee can be considered; however, this requires a more detailed account of the project and the company.

Finnvera can provide financing for most sectors, except for farming, forestry and building developer's business. There are also certain sectors that we cannot finance. Read more about sector restrictions.

For more information, call our customer service at +358 (0)29 460 2582.

Our loans and guarantees can only be used to meet companies’ new financing needs. We can grant ex-post financing (conversion of financing) only in cases where Finnvera is also the party that granted the original loan or guarantee.

Our loans and guarantees can only be used to meet companies’ new financing needs. We can grant ex-post financing (conversion of financing) only in cases where Finnvera is also the party that granted the original loan or guarantee.

After you have submitted your application in the online service, you will receive an e-mail confirmation about its reception. If necessary, you can contact our customer service at +358 29 460 2582.

If you have applied for a loan from a bank and the provider of financing applies for a Start Guarantee or an SME Guarantee on your behalf, as a rule we process the application from the provider of financing in three business days. The funding decision will be sent directly from Finnvera to the provider of financing, who will contact you.

When it comes to other Finnvera financing, we will contact you within about a week from having received your financing application. The processing time depends on the scope of the project. When submitting your application, remember to provide all the attachments needed for the type of financing concerned and check that your register data is correctly entered in the public registers (e.g., the Trade Register of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office).

Once the financing decision has been made, the contact person indicated in the application will be notified by email. 

After this, the persons in charge of the company (CEO/Managing Director, member of the Board of Directors, persons authorised to sign on behalf of the company, and holders of procuration, partner or private trader) or persons authorised by them may view the decision in the online service and, if the financing decision is positive, accept or reject it.

The financing decision concerning the application of an unregistered company is only visible to the person who has submitted the application in the online service for private customers.

Even though our financing decisions are based on an assessment of your company's prospects, collateral also plays a role. The need for collateral is examined on a case-by-case basis.

The main shareholders of a limited liability company are primarily required to invest in the company's equity or, if this is not possible, to give a personal guarantee. The total amount of investments or personal guarantees is 20 per cent of the liability of a limited liability company. The special guarantee undertaking lodged by the principal shareholders must cover 25 per cent of Finnvera’s guarantee sum. However, the guarantee provided by one shareholder is at least EUR 3,000 and at most EUR 20,000.

Sole proprietors and general partners in general partnerships and limited partnerships are also otherwise personally liable for the loans of their enterprises.

In addition to directly enforceable guarantees, business mortgages or real property mortgages are often used as collateral in projects requiring more substantial financing. However, Finnvera does not use the apartment owned and used by the entrepreneur as collateral.

The Climate and Environmental Loan and the Digitalisation and Innovation Loan under the InvestEU programme are provided on an unsecured basis.

A personal guarantee may be a special guarantee or a general guarantee. With a directly enforceable special guarantee, the personal guarantor undertakes to guarantee specified Finnvera financing up to the agreed limit in euros.

The general guarantee may be used as collateral for several rounds of financing of the same limited liability company. However, in the general guarantee, the guarantor's liability is limited to the agreed maximum amount in euros. The general guarantee provided is automatically used as collateral for the financing of a limited liability company that is generated within 10 years of the granting of the personal guarantee.

A directly enforceable guarantee refers to a guarantee in which the personal guarantor is personally responsible for the loan or guarantee received by the company as if it were their own debt. If the company has not paid its debt by the due date, the creditor has the right to demand payment of the debt from the guarantor.

Personal guarantees granted to Finnvera are never jointly and severally liable, so the guarantor only pays on the basis of its own guarantee, regardless of whether other guarantors are able to manage their own ones.

A personal guarantor is exempted from the guarantee liability when the company has paid its debt to Finnvera or the guarantee provided by Finnvera to another provider of financing has ended.

It is important to remember that in the event of a merger, the personal guarantee of the seller of the shares will not be terminated without the guarantor requesting a decision from Finnvera on the exemption from the guarantee liability. Finnvera usually makes a decision by which the personal guarantee provided by the seller of the shares is released and a replacement personal guarantee is taken from the buyer.