A NEW line of credit totalling €40 billion has been agreed by Spain's government to help boost cashflow, capital and investment for businesses.
An initial credit facility of €100bn created earlier this year has already been used up, so a further cash injection to help traders finance their activities was approved by the Council of Ministers this week.
Loans are available for financing circulating capital and for helping businesses expand and modernise through investment in two key areas that offer greater added value to their products and services, attracting and keeping customers, making life easier for these and for the business, and helping the owners to avoid being 'left behind' in a competitive market.
These two key areas are digitalisation and environmental sustainability.
Investment is now more crucial than ever for traders and companies of all sizes, given that the State of Alarm and lockdown restricted activity and mobility, and the initial €100bn was largely aimed at increasing cashflow at a difficult time and in a format that is cheaper, more flexible and more accessible than bank-based business loans.
The additional €40bn has been set up to try to reactivate the economy which, in Spain, like in most countries this year, has suffered as a result of the pandemic.
These credit lines are not just for major corporate entities or national chains – in fact, 97% of agreed applications came from small and medium-sized businesses and self-employed persons or sole traders, who have so far received around €50.8bn in guarantee funds and around €62.5bn in cashflow loans to help them meet the day-to-day costs of running their businesses.
Companies and self-employed persons seeking to benefit from the government-based finance – available through the Official Credit Institute (ICO) – have until September 30 to apply.
The money is exclusively for firms and traders whose income has been affected by the pandemic, provided they were solvent as at New Year's Eve 2019 and had not been in receivership or undergoing bankruptcy proceedings as at the second working day after the State of Alarm was declared, March 17, 2020.
TWO of Spain's largest high-street banks are reported to be in merger talks, potentially resulting in the joint entity being the second-biggest in the country in terms of share capital.
THE average Spanish resident will spend between €500 and €1,500 on their holidays this year, with three in 10 set to increase their budget from last year and 16% reducing it.
SPAIN'S State post office has launched a new solution for passing travellers who do not want to lug their suitcases around: Lockers for bags are now provided, with prices depending upon weight.
