Being a fund, this programme does not cover the single loan, but rather the full portfolio up to a limit based on the “expected losses” agreed between the bank and the management of the programme. Any additional loss beyond this ceiling is charged on the bank, which is therefore tasked with the appraisal of the loan. The leverage factor, i.e. the multiplier effect of the single peso given as guarantee, has also achieved its peak in 2006, on the one hand because of the downsizing of the NGF and, on the other, due to the buoyant trend of credit before the outbreak of the global economic crisis. The evolution in the last four years is particularly revealing.