The The outbreak of the pandemic paralyzed Spanish companies. Faced with the slowdown in production, income was frozen and many companies and SMEs – small and medium-sized enterprises – began a new path full of difficulties, in which many of them have been on the verge of closing.
Faced with this situation, the Government of Spain, together with the autonomous communities, promoted the creation of we provide ICO; lines of public financing to alleviate the economic consequences of the coronavirus crisis, but through private credit entities.
The measure has had great reception by Valencian companieswho have received more than 13,500 million euros of financing through ICO loans, with a grace period – which has been extended on several occasions – that ends next June 30 so companies will have to start paying ICO credits; Until now they have not had to pay any type of amount.
The end of the lack of ICO loans – the government has already announced that it will not be able to extend them any longer because the European Union does not allow it – it comes at a time when “there are many companies that have not reached pre-covid business figures”, as recognized Benedict Jimenez, commercial director of Gedesco; so the companies will face the payment of the debt in full recovery period.
Financing for the return of ICO credits
In this context, from Gedesco – the largest non-bank financing company in Spain -, presents a new financing line for Spanish SMEs fully compatible with ICO loanswith a background of €250 million.
This Gedesco option for SMEs is planned as a concession of loans to five years, with possibility of grace period of 12 months, so that entrepreneurs will be able to face the repayment of ICO loans with a margin of one year at the expense of definitive recovery.
With this measure, Gedesco claims to be “the support that companies need and SMEs to keep growing”, argues Jiménez. The manager assures that many of the current companies are still viable and only require time: “they only need gasoline, liquidity, so that they can carry out their project”.
What are the terms to access these grants? Virtually nothing because the company offers liquidity in just 24 hoursthrough an online process in which SMEs will not be alone, since Gedesco offers a personalized attention from the beginning of the process to the end of the operation.
In addition, this helpline It is also available for all those sectors that have been excluded from ICO credits, but that they have also suffered the effects of the economic crisis derived from the pandemic.
Alternative bank aid
Given the difficulties that companies, banks and financing entities such as Gedesco have suffered they anticipated public aid – one of them is ICO loans – to offer alternative financing plans with which to face the difficulties derived from the health crisis.
“Just as we entered the pandemic, in the middle of March 2020, we were able with our operating system to drain liquidity very quickly; and then came the ICOs” explains Jiménez.
In this line, the entity – it has more than 20 years of experience in the sector – offered loans to the companies up to 25% of your turnoverthat is, it gave them up to a quarter of the amount of income that each company would have generated in a normal context, that is, before the arrival of the coronavirus crisis.
Solution for SMEs
Faced with the end of the lack of ICO credits, Jiménez acknowledges that “we are facing a difficult situation, in which we will have to see what behavior the bank will have.” However, he sends a reassuring message: “Let the companies stay calm; here they will have solutions”he concludes.
For more information on the financing offered by Gedesco, Press here.
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