Hogan Lovells advises UniCredit in EBS Finance, the first securitisation programme of €500 million tax claims deriving from the "Eco-Sisma-Super-Bonus" Italian sustainable law scheme

The Eco-Sisma-Super-Bonus is a new Italian sustainable legislative scheme involving tax deductions convertible into tax claims granted in favour of renovation works on houses and buildings aimed at energy requalification and reduction of seismic risk. This sustainable legislative scheme was introduced as part of the Italian pandemic economic measures by the so called "Rilancio Decree" (i.e. Law Decree 34/2020, converted into law by Law 77/2020).

The securitisation programme has an initial size of €500 million and has been structured in accordance with the Italian securitisation law (i.e. Law 130/99), through the sale of the tax claims to the special purpose vehicle EBS Finance S.r.l.

The sellers of the tax claims are all UniCredit's clients of various categories, including companies producing plants and system allowing to achieve the energy saving targets in the renovation works, such as high efficiency boilers, heat pumps and photovoltaic plants.

The clients can use the securitisation programme in order to finance their activities through the sale to EBS Finance S.r.l. of the tax claims they originate in the course of their business.

Further to the peculiar nature of the securitised assets, the EBS Finance deal has also an additional innovative structural feature: it makes use of the new rules recently introduced under the Italian securitisation law (i.e. art. 1, paragraph 1, letter b) allowing the investors to take part to the securitisation by granting loans to the special purpose vehicle (in addition or as alternative to subscribing or purchasing asset-backed securities).

The securitisation has been structured with the involvement of UniCredit Bank AG as Arranger.

Under the transaction 130 Servicing is acting as Servicer of the tax claims and Capital Funding Solutions as Programme Administrator.

Hogan Lovells provided legal assistance to the UniCredit Banking Group as Transaction Counsel in all legal and regulatory aspects of the securitisation with a team led by the partner Federico del Monte (Capital Markets), and comprising the associates Diego Guardì (Capital Markets) and Matteo Scuriatti (Capital Markets). The tax matters have been dealt with by a team of the tax department comprising the counsel Serena Pietrosanti and the associate Maria Cristina Conte. English law advise has been provided by partner and Head of Financial Institutions sector Sharon Lewis (Capital Markets) and associate Ailsa Davies (Capital Markets).