Many firms miss out on loans

Emergency state loans totaling 1 billion euros will be disbursed next week to 100,000 enterprises if they also consent to the terms attached. Of the 139,000 enterprises that applied to receive the low-interest loans, some 39,000 failed to meet the eligibility criteria as the authorities found they actually had higher turnover this year than in 2019.

Sources told Kathimerini that the turnover of a number of small corporations (with single-entry books) over the first quarter of 2019 was greater than in the same period of 2019, so they have been left out of the “Deposit to Be Returned” scheme at this stage; they will only qualify for loans if their April turnover considerably lags that of April 2019.

As Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said, “this program will be repeated once in May, for enterprises that post major losses in April.”

If all 100,000 companies accept the terms attached to those loans, according to the Finance Ministry decision to be issued in the next few days, they will collect an average of 10,000 euros each. The amount each enterprise receives will depend on specific criteria to be analyzed in the upcoming ministerial decision.

Among the criteria for the issue of the loans are a decline in turnover and inflow figures, the inclusion in support programs recently announced by the government (to establish the benefits received) and a drop in profits.

The ministry has examined the March turnover for the last three years of companies with double-entry bookkeeping and of the first quarter for companies with single-entry books. In this way the ministry is hoping to establish the turnover of each enterprise under normal conditions previously.

The government intends to credit the eligible enterprises in early May. They will have to pay the funds back within five years, with a grace period of one year. Crucially, this working capital will be credited immediately to the recipients at the touch of a button, without the time-consuming procedures associated with banks.