Growing interest is shown small and medium enterprises For loans from Recovery Fundas they cut their financial costs in half, during the period of growth interest rates.

It is currently estimated that out of 106 agreements signed for loans from the Recovery Fund, about 35, i.e. 1/3 concern small and medium enterprises. The amount of loans is, of course, proportionately smaller, since investments have a correspondingly smaller budget. According to data recently published Ministry of FinanceOf the 381 investment projects that have been submitted to banks and are under review, with a total budget of €12.12 billion, 230 were submitted by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and have a total budget of €2.73 billion.

Sizes are expected to increase dramatically in the near future, supports bank source, since there is already an increasingly intense interest from this category of enterprises, which were initially cautious, believing that they would not be able to fulfill bureaucratic and other obligations on specific loans. “Large companies are aware of the Recovery Fund, small and medium-sized companies need guidance,” says the responsible head of the bank. He adds, “I expect exponential growth.”

The incentive of low value of money is strong. In particular, according to the same source, for a typical loan to small and medium-sized businesses (according to the classification of banks, this means a turnover of up to 5-7 million euros), the bank’s interest rate is uribor plus 3%, which is currently only 6%. For small and very small businesses, the Recovery Fund’s interest rate is 0.35%. Thus, for a small business that finances its investments with equal amounts of loans from the Recovery Fund and the bank, as usual, the average cost of borrowing is 3.17% in today’s data, almost half of what it would be if it borrowed the entire amount from jar.

Thanks to the lower interest rate they borrow from the Recovery Fund, small businesses nearly equal their average borrowing costs to large businesses. The larger company takes out a loan from the bank at the rate of euribor plus 1.5%, i.e. today 4.5%, and from the Recovery Fund at 1%. Thus, its average interest rate for equal loans from both sources is 2.75%.

It is noted that the Recovery Fund finances up to 50% of investments. The investor’s own participation must be at least 20%, and the bank loan – at least 30%. In practice, as a rule, the Recovery Fund and banks cover 40%, and the investor’s contribution is 20%.

The Recovery Fund, in addition to the 0.35% interest rate at which it lends to small and very small businesses (up to 50 employees) and 1% for medium and large businesses, also applies a third interest rate for ineligible businesses. loans State aid. This applies to specific investment categories (e.g. electric vehicles) or investments already underway. The interest rate here is variable and today is 3.6%. Thus, the average interest rate on loans issued by the Recovery Fund is still 1.8%, while in October last year it was 0.9%. The average maturity of loans issued today is 12 years. The borrower additionally benefits from a fast process, which can be limited to three months.

By far the most numerous investment category for small and medium-sized enterprises interested in lending from the Recovery Fund is tourism and mainly housing. A typical, real-life example: a 3-star hotel in the Cyclades is transformed into a 5-star hotel, achieving an energy and digital upgrade. Thus, it reduces its operating costs, facilitates access to foreign customers, increases turnover and profitability.

However, there are also a few businesses that operate in other sectors and have been strengthened: Yioi G. Galika OE in Agrinio received a €600,000 loan from the Recovery Fund for an investment of €2 million to modernize its slaughterhouses. Greek braking company Grantex AE is financing a €2 million investment with a €600,000 loan from the Recovery Fund to modernize and upgrade its equipment. Many energy communities have taken out loans for renewable energy projects.