Second set of state loans to be bigger
The Finance Ministry is planning to offer loans of 1.4 billion euros to companies in the second phase of the “Deposit To Be Returned” scheme, which will be paid out at the end of June.
According to sources, the government is considering some minor changes to the eligibility criteria so that more enterprises can join the lending scheme, which not only has a long grace period (of 18 months) but also comes with a very low interest rate, below 1%.
Some 55,000 corporations secured loans in the first phase of the scheme, while the ministry estimates this figure to be more than double in the second phase.
Companies that entered the €1billion first phase may also apply again in this extension of state lending and receive additional funds, to be returned within five years. This is provided their March, April and May data show losses big enough to justify the intervention of the state.
The ministry, therefore, will create an individual file for each enterprise hurt by the pandemic based on the data from the last three months. The second phase will also pertain to companies excluded from other funding instruments.
