Ljubljana – The Finance Ministry has urged banks to lend money to businesses, saying that the state guarantees included in the newest corona crisis legislation package will apply to loans given to companies between 12 March and the end of the year.
The legislative package, which aims to boost liquidity of businesses, is being discussed by the government this afternoon and will be presented to the public tomorrow. It is expected to be passed and enter into force by the end of the month.
“We urge banks to step up efforts to preserve liquidity because this is vital for a swift escape from the crisis and economic recovery,” the Finance Ministry said in a release.
This will be the second legislative package after a EUR 3 billion stimulus package was passed at the beginning of the month. It is unclear how much will be made available in the newest package, however, coalition party leaders talked about EUR 2.8 billion on Monday.
It is also not clear how high the state guarantees will be. The initial draft entailed 50% of capital for large companies and 75% for SMEs, however, some coalition parties wanted to see these shares increased.
Moreover, a third package is also in the works and is to focus on the tourism sector and agriculture.