1st November 2020, Skopje – Draft Law on Modifications and Amendments to the Law on the Development Bank of North Macedonian Bank, providing for realizing the measure – State Guarantee Fund, was published on the Single National Electronic Register, for public consultation. Draft Law governs the manner in which the state loan guarantee will be applied, aimed at facilitating the access to loans for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Under the Draft Law, budget funds in the amount of EUR 10 million will be invested in the Guarantee Fund, as non-repayable funds, to be used as guarantees at commercial banks when extending loans. The adoption of this law and the implementation of this measure is of great importance for micro, small and medium enterprises, because it significantly facilitates access to capital and gives them support at a time when the crisis has reduced liquidity in the economy, said Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi.
The Development Bank, the banks and the saving houses will conclude agreement for issuing guarantees, the final beneficiaries of which will be micro, small- and medium-sized companies, as well as major export-oriented companies. As for the working capital loans, up to 80% of the loan amount will be guaranteed, while up to 50% of the loan amount will be guaranteed for loans for fixed assets.
In order for the guarantee scheme to be protected, the credit activity of the Guarantee Fund is limited. The aggregate amount of extended loans guaranteed by the Guarantee Fund may not be higher than ten times the amount of the assets of the Guarantee Fund. Additionally, the exposure of the Guarantee Fund to a separate bank and saving house is limited up to 25% for a bank and 10% for a saving house of the amount of the Guarantee Fund assets. This solution provides for achieving one of the goals of the Law – facilitated access to loans for as many micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises as possible.
For the purpose of achieving transparency and control of the legitimacy in the operations of the Guarantee Fund, the Development Bank will publish the number and the amount of extended loans, the amount of approved guarantees and the limit of guarantees by banks and savings houses on quarterly basis, whereby the Ministry of Finance will publish a semi-annual report on the fiscal risks of the Guarantee Fund, the guarantee exposure and the initiated procedures for calling-up of guarantees.
