The European Commission has launched a loan guarantee fund aimed at making it easier for film producers to gain access to bank financing. The €8 million MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund will be run by the Commission in tandem with 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 MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund will be available to support film producers throughout Europe. The Fund will, for example, help to cover a proportion of a loan in the event of non-payment by a producer due to bankruptcy. (RAPID, IP/11/23, 12.1.2011)