Hellenic Development Bank set to unveil €3bn working capital financing

The Hellenic Development Bank is set to issue an invitation to banks to participate in the second phase of a scheme to unleash €3 billion in working capital for companies in Greece.

The Guarantee Fund is the biggest program supplying cash flow, expected to total €6 billion through both its stages by the end of the year. The bulk of this batch of loans will go to small and medium-sized enterprises, while the program will also be open to corporations that have collected loans through the Entrepreneurship Fund II or in the first phase of the Guarantee Fund. 

This constitutes a significant change in the government’s financing policy and is a decision made by Deputy Development Minister Yiannis Tsakiris, who considered the needs for liquidity and for the full absorption of the Guarantee Fund resources until the end of the year.

Hellenic Development Bank chief executive Athina Hatzipetrou said the lender “has ended up lifting this limitation, weighing market conditions and following the decision by the investment committee that is responsible for the approval of the structure of funding programs".

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has extended the third phase of the program for cheap state loans to corporations, known as the “Deposit To Be Returned” until 28 September.

The sum of the loans to be issued with favorable terms in this phase comes to €1.5 billion.