Legislation
Legislation
Finnvera's and its subsidiaries' operations are governed by and organised according to the Limited Liability Companies Act and the Acts pertaining specifically to Finnvera as well as by the industrial and ownership policy goals determined by the State.
In addition to the legislation and the company’s own Articles of Association, Finnvera complies with the recommendations of the Financial Supervisory Authority and the Finnish Corporate Governance Code, whenever applicable. Bank regulation defined in the EU's credit institutions directive is not applied to Finnvera's operations.
Since the decisions made by Finnvera on financing are bound by the legislation, the same predetermined criteria are used to assess each financing decision. These criteria are based on the assessment of the various components of profitability in the enterprise’s business. Acting within this framework, Finnvera applies independent discretion when carrying out its tasks.
Are you unhappy with our decision?
Finnvera’s financing decisions, or the assessment of the credit risk and the profitability of the applicant’s business, are not subject to the right of appeal. However, the client always has the option of applying for financing again.
Furthermore, anyone who suspects that a body discharging public administrative duties, such as Finnvera, has acted unlawfully or has not fulfilled its duties is entitled to lodge an administrative complaint in accordance with Chapter 8a of the Administrative Procedure Act. The complaint is submitted in writing to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, which supervises Finnvera’s activities. In its decision, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment may draw Finnvera's attention to the requirements of good governance or may inform of the Ministry’s understanding of the lawful procedure.
Any suspicions of malpractice or breach of operating principles can also be confidentially brought to the knowledge of Finnvera’s Risk Management via whistleblowing channel.
State aid rules
As a publicly owned financing company, Finnvera must comply with the EU rules on State aid when providing financial services.
Finnvera does not grant direct subsidies or grants to companies, but Finnvera’s financing includes so-called imputed State aid, which can be seen in the price or terms and conditions of financing. If the price on terms and conditions of Finnvera’s loan or guarantee is lower than the reference price rate determined by the EU Commission, the price difference is calculated as imputed aid.
- The primary form of state aid in Finnvera’s financing is de minimis aid. Finnvera cannot grant this as direct subsidies, but it is included in Finnvera’s financing as a more favourable price or better terms. An enterprise can receive de minimis aid from different aid providers to the maximum amount of EUR 200,000 during a period of three years.
- If the enterprise is about to reach or has reached the maximum amount of de minimis aid or if the enterprise is in difficulty as defined in the de minimis decree, aid might not be possible or aid may require a higher financing price level, or so-called pricing without including aid.
- Financing granted by Finnvera for investment purposes may include project-specific investment and employment aid granted to SMEs in accordance with the EU’s General Block Exemption Regulation (so-called SME aid).
- In addition, Finnvera can use the SME Rescue and Restructuring Aid Scheme that is suitable for financing enterprises in difficulty.
In connection with each financing decision, Finnvera checks whether the financing can include imputed State aid or not and selects a form of aid that may be suitable for the case.
However, due to State aid rules, export credit guarantees must always be rated in such a way that they do not include any aid.
Confidentiality of operations
Finnvera is committed to confidentiality in its operations. This is how confidentiality is respected regarding client and insider information as well as data protection and information security.
Preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism
In its financing operations, Finnvera complies with practices against money laundering and the financing of terrorism by utilising the client identification and KYC (Know Your Customer) obligations recommended by the Financial Supervisory Authority, where applicable.
The KYC obligations include verifying the identity of the client, the person acting on behalf of the client and the actual beneficiaries of the client, collecting data on the purpose and nature of the intended client relationship and storing client information. In addition, customer relationship involving a high risk of money laundering or terrorist financing require extended control measures and additional documentation.
The objective is to ensure that no funds obtained from illegal sources are transmitted to a financing system through Finnvera and that no obtained funding is used to finance terrorism or other illegal operations. Finnvera also aims to ensure its compliance with international sanctions by utilising the KYC obligations.
Finnvera will primarily request the information it needs to meet customer due diligence obligations from the customer in connection with the application processing and during the customer relationship to update the information. Additionally, Finnvera may supplement and verify the information with information from official sources.
