Sberbank to develop program with govt for SMEs with deferral of payment and state subsidies - bank
MOSCOW. March 27 (Interfax) - Sberbank is developing a program together with the Russian government for subsidizing small and medium-sized business from a number of sectors, Sberbank Deputy CEO Anatoly Popov told reporters via the company's press service.
"The principle of this program is deferral of loan payments for 6 months with division of interest payments into three equal parts. Two parts are paid not by the client but the government and banks themselves, and small business pays one third of the interest rate. Moreover, the enterprise is presented with a choice: it may pay this third, but may also reschedule the payment of a third of interest to a later date - after October 1, 2020," Popov said.
He also said that the program was intended to support companies operating in the sphere of tourism - the aviation industry, tour operators, and the hotel business -, catering, those holding leisure and sports activities, organizers of conferences and exhibitions, as well as those providing household services to the population and supplementary education services.
"The necessary documents are now being finalized; we expect the program's official launch to take place on April 1," Popov said.
The Central Bank earlier announced an adjustment to the conditions of the program for supporting financing of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a limit of 500 billion rubles. "Within the framework of the indicated aggregate limit, 150 billion rubles will be allocated for supporting banks in their financing of SMEs with the aim of ensuring their uninterrupted fulfillment of conditions to employees as regards salaries," it said.