Bulgarian Development Bank extends COVID-19 support for SMEs
The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) is expanding the scope and extending the application deadline of its loan guarantee scheme for liquidity support to SMEs hit by the impact of COVID-19.
Changes to the scheme envisage support to a larger number of companies active in the sectors worst hit by the crisis, including larger Bulgaria-registered companies - with personnel of over 250, annual turnover exceeding BGN97.5 million ($58.2 million) and/or asset value higher than BGN84 million.
The application deadline will be extended by six months, until the middle of June 2021, as the maximum amount of a single loan under the scheme will be raised to 2 million levs. BDB guarantees 80% of the value of each loan and this percentage remains the same after the approved changes, which were approved by Bulgaria's Council of Ministers on 28 October.
The changes can come into force after the approval of the European Commission and after the signing of annexes to the loan agreements with each of the commercial banks part of the scheme.
