Huge interest in state loans

Σπύρος ΚλωνήςGreek Market

Phase 4 of the cheap state loans program known as the “Deposit To Be Returned,” which expires on Monday, has given the Finance Ministry a message of optimism pertaining to the composition of the applicants to date.

According to a ministry source, it appears that the number of corporations to have applied for credit on favorable terms has doubled compared to the previous phases. This source estimates that this is partly thanks to the fact that half of the credit issued is not to be returned, and also due to optimism regarding the course of the economy, with the only question over a vaccine now being when and not if. This allows entrepreneurs to take the risk and commit themselves to not laying off any staff until the end of March, as the program’s conditions dictate.

Data from the Independent Authority for Public Revenue that a ministry statement cited yesterday showed that up until yesterday, 364.244 eligible recipients had submitted applications for the state credit through the myBusinessSupport platform.

The same source at the ministry estimated that some 65,000-70,000 of them were corporations, against between 33,000 and 37,000 over each of the previous three phases. It also noted the increase in personal enterprises with employees, which soared to 78,000, up by over 20,000 compared to the previous phases. The other 210,000 applicants are freelance professionals.

In total this loans phase has already topped 1.8 billion euros, against an original target for €1.2 billion, and it is expected to climb to €2 billion by Monday, constituting significant support to the market.

The ministry’s statement added that €410 million was credited to the bank accounts of 97,662 recipients of the Deposit To Be Returned yesterday. Therefore, a week after the start of the online platform’s operation for the fourth phase, the total number of recipients to have already collected their loans comes to 319,835, and their balance has grown by a total of €1.53 billion. A fifth phase will follow in January.

Source: ekathimerini.com