Businesses most affected by COVID-19 may apply for liquidity loans as first agreement with financial institution signed

The national development agency Investicijų ir Verslo Garantijos (INVEGA) has signed its first agreement with the crowdfunding platform FinBee Verslui on soft loans for businesses most affected by COVID-19. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose activities have been suspended due to the quarantine or whose turnover has fallen by more than 60 per cent are able to apply to FinBee Verslui starting from 17 April.

"This agreement opens up opportunities for businesses to apply to a financial institution and actually take advantage of the most anticipated aid measures. We are pleased that the first cooperation agreement was prepared and signed in a very short timeframe. We also hope that we will soon receive applications from other financial market participants for the implementation of this scheme, thus creating the best conditions for businesses to apply to lenders for liquidity loans,” said Mr Kęstutis Motiejūnas, CEO of INVEGA.

"This is really good news for small and medium-sized businesses in our country, and this allows us to secure financing for companies at this really difficult time. We, as representatives of the fintech sector, are pleased that the state is cooperating and has enabled us to make a significant contribution to helping businesses and giving them more opportunities. We always strive to be a constantly reliable business partner in both good and difficult times,” said Mr Audrius Griškevičius, CEO of Finbee Verslui.

INVEGA recalls that companies whose activities were completely suspended due to the quarantine or whose turnover fell by more than 60 per cent are entitled to apply for a soft loan to financial intermediaries that have signed a cooperation agreement with INVEGA for the implementation of the scheme.

In order for the procedure to be smooth and fast, companies should have calculated their fixed monthly operating costs, including the part of the wages that are not compensated by the state, utilities, rent for premises or equipment lease, transport and other services, which are vital for the company to continue operations. The amount of the loan will be calculated in each case individually, taking into account the monthly costs incurred by a particular company.

When applying to a financial institution, companies will be required to confirm these expenses in one document, a declaration.

The company applying for the loan will also have to submit a financial statement for 2019, a letter explaining that its turnover has fallen by more than 60 per cent due to the effects of the pandemic and a loan application with a brief description of the company's current situation and its fixed operating costs.

Loans to the businesses most affected by COVID-19 are 100-per-cent financed by the state. They can be paid for the period from 16 March until 31 July 2020. The state provides these loans on preferential terms, with a minimum interest rate. The interest rate depends on the loan repayment period: for loans up to 12 months interest rates are set at 0.1 percent, and at 0.19 per cent for loans from 13 to 36 months. Companies can start repaying these loans after 6 months from the date of issue, with installments spread over two years and the possibility of extension for a further period.