“The number of clients who have contacted the bank to discuss a refund is very limited,” said Remo Crameri, UBS’s corporate client manager in Ticino.
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Ticino companies that have applied for and obtained a loan guaranteed by the Confederation are in no hurry to repay the loans granted to them to overcome the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. More than half of the sums made available have been used, according to the RSI.
The percentage varies from 53% at UBS to around 80% at the Cantonal Bank of Ticino (BancaStato), the Ticinese media indicated on its website on Tuesday. Together with Credit Suisse, the three institutes have granted companies loans totaling 700 million francs, or more than half of the total volume.
The reimbursement of COVID-19 credits remains rare, and mainly concerns entrepreneurs who no longer want to be subject to the restrictions to which this capital is linked, in particular the ban on financing operations not directly intended to guarantee the survival of the company, such as the payment of dividends or the investment in new projects.
“To date, the number of customers who have contacted the bank to discuss a refund is very limited,” assured the microphone of the RSI Remo Crameri, responsible for corporate clients of UBS for the Italian-speaking canton.
The use or not of the credits granted varies significantly according to the sector of activity of the beneficiary companies. “In the hotel industry, tourism, means of transport, the rate exceeds 60%, while in business consulting, it is less than 45%”, he continued.
“For now, I would maintain my credit line, since the interest rate is zero and therefore has no cost,” suggests Marzio Grassi, regional director of Credit Suisse, stressing the multiplicity of possible scenarios when approaching. autumn, then winter, depending on how the health crisis is managed.
At the end of June, the Ticino Banking Association (ABT) had indicated that the banks operating in the canton had granted around 10,000 loans for a cumulative amount of 1.2 billion francs.
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