Kommersant: Russian business complained about banks' refusal to issue soft loans soft loans at a rate of 3 percent per annum to compensate for the consequences of non-working days, writes Kommersant.
The problem was reported by restaurateurs, tour operators, beauty salons, event organizers and representatives of other industries affected by the pandemic. They argue that banks put forward additional conditions and impose services before issuing a loan. The bankers themselves assure that they are helping the business, and everyone who wants to get soft loans, the main thing is to meet the requirements.
The co-owner of the Teremok chain Mikhail Goncharov and the head of the Rosinter board of directors Rostislav Ordovsky-Tanaevsky said that their companies were denied preferential loans, despite meeting all requirements. According to Goncharov, in order to receive a loan, the current profit before taxes (EBITDA) must be higher than in 2019. Ordovsky-Tanaevsky considers the fulfillment of the conditions unrealistic, since the achievement of a high level of profit is hampered by constant lockdowns.
In addition, banks require collateral, although 75 percent of the loan is provided by the state, Goncharov said. The government decree clearly formulates a ban on the requirement of bail, recalls the deputy general director of the legal firm Amulex.ru Yulia Galueva.
The head of the Opora Rossii tourism committee Alexei Kozhevnikov, public ombudsman for organizing cultural events Olga Shpigalskikh (head of the Artistika concert agency) and public representative of the business ombudsman in St. Petersburg Lyalya Sadykova (owner of beauty salons “Lucky Like” and “Curlers”). The Shokoladnitsa coffeehouse chain said that the banks had placed them in a risk zone and did not even consider applications.
Banks consider the claims of businessmen to be unfounded. VTB said that they approve the applications that meet the requirements and have already issued loans to restaurateurs for one billion rubles. Sberbank reported that they issued about two thousand loans to catering, and the industry accounted for 25 percent of applications. Rosbank also denied the inclusion of the hotel and restaurant business in the stop-list for issuing preferential loans.
On November 16, the problem was discussed at a meeting of the Ministry of Economic Development, the source said. On November 22, the department will re-discuss the issue with representatives of the affected business sectors.
The payroll 3.0 (payroll) program was launched by the government on October 28, on the eve of the introduction of non-working days from October 30 to November 7 due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases … According to it, representatives of small and medium-sized businesses have the right to receive a concessional loan for one and a half years from November 1 to December 30, 2021 at a rate of 3 percent per annum. The main condition for receiving support is to retain at least 90 percent of employees.