Heger: Details of State-Guaranteed Bank Loans to Be Known Next Week

Bratislava, April 30 (TASR) – The exact wording of the scheme of advantageous bank loans guaranteed by the state will be known next week as the Government approved framework conditions of this programme on Thursday, Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) said following the Cabinet meeting, adding that the details are still being fine-tuned.

The amendment to the Act on Certain Extraordinary Measures in the Financial Area in Relation to the COVID-19 Spread prepared by the Finance Ministry should be approved by Parliament in a fast-tracked procedure. This will create the conditions for a bank loan programme worth €500 million per month, which Heger announced earlier.

“The bank guarantees will be provided through two state institutions, Slovak Investment Holding (SIH) and Eximbanka. They will subsequently sign these schemes with commercial banks,” said Heger. “We’ll publish the exact wording of the scheme next week, because the details are still being fine-tuned. Then we’ll inform you in detail,” he added.

According to the Finance Ministry, the financial assistance is intended to help provide companies with sufficient liquidity. It will be possible to provide it in the form of a guarantee for a loan provided by a bank or in the form of a waiver of the guarantee fee for a loan provided by a bank. This is enabled by a temporary framework for state aid measures to support the economy in the current situation caused by COVID-19, which has been approved by the European Commission (EC).