Corporations queuing up for state loans

Greek business is showing very strong interest in the state loans with low interest rates and on favorable terms, known as the “Deposit To Be Returned,” as up until Wednesday some 114,000 corporations had applied to enter the program’s second phase, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told Parliament on Tuesday. Almost 60% of them, or 68,000 applicants, comprise personal enterprises.

The deadline for the second and final phase of the project for the issue of five-year loans to companies hurt by the pandemic was to expire the day before yesterday but has been extended until this Friday, along with the expansion of the corporations eligible for the state credit that comes with a one-year grace period. The measure now means applications from small and very small enterprises can be accepted even if they were problematic on December 31, 2019.

In total, this second phase is expected to distribute 1.4 billion euros to companies, after 52,490 enterprises shared €602 million over the first phase in May. This means an average loan of €11,500 per enterprise. The total amount to be credited comes to €2 billion.