Russian small business companies have additionally attracted more than 2.4 billion rubles of borrowed capital thanks to "umbrella" guarantees of the SME Corporation, the country's Ministry of Economic Development said.

Deputy head of the ministry Tatiana Ilyushnikova explained that previously obtaining a state guarantee was an individual, "piecemeal" and took much time and effort from entrepreneurs.

"Now it's a "flow" in a good sense, the banks participating in the program grant loans within the limit set by the amount of the portfolio," she said.

Now the average rate on loans, which began to be issued under the guarantee, was 9.7% per annum. The SME Corporation assumes 50% of the banks' risks for entrepreneurs. According to the programme's monitoring data, the average size of a loan against a surety is about 17 million rubles.

Loans against surety for small businesses were launched on September 15, 2021. Six banks were selected for this program - Otkrytie, PSB, VTB, RNKB, SME Bank and Sber. It is expected that sureties will help small businesses attract another 20 billion rubles by the end of this year, and by 2024 - at least 600 billion rubles.

Made in Russia / Made in Russia

Author: Karina Kamalova