DFC may launch loan guarantee scheme for Serbian SMEs in early 2021 - fin min

The 2 billion euro ($2.3 billion) loan guarantee programme introduced by the Serbian government in April to limit the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic on local SMEs will expire at the end of 2020, and a DFC-supported package may be launched at the beginning of next year, so that businesses would have more time for planning and applying, Mali said in a statement on Tuesday. 

"I am convinced that we will create favourable conditions for our businessmen, and DFC will be the guarantor of loans taken from banks in Serbia. In the previous guarantee scheme, the guarantor of the repayment of those loans was the state of Serbia," Mali said.

Companies have already used 1.3 billion euro guarantees under the state-backed scheme and 10% of it was used to refinance existing loans, while 90% was used to improve liquidity and make investments, he added.

In September, Mali said that DFC is in talks with the Serbian government on the launch of a guarantee scheme in support of local SMEs worth at least $1 billion. 

($ = 0.852134 euro)