SINGAPORE: Small- and medium-sized enterprises that need help to manage their immediate cash flow needs during the COVID-19 pandemic can take out government-assisted bank loans at a lower interest rate.
"By providing financial institutions funding at the low interest rate of 0.1 per cent per annum for a two-year tenor, the facility reduces the financial institutions’ cost of funds for loans made under the ESG Loan Schemes," said MAS and Enterprise Singapore.AdvertisementThe move by MAS comes on top of enhancements to ESG loan schemes that were announced on Apr 6 as part of the Solidarity Budget - raising the Government's risk-share of loans to 90 per cent.
“The MAS facility works in tandem with the ESG Loan Schemes to help lower borrowing costs for SMEs," said MAS managing director Ravi Menon. "We have also gone a step further and waived all processing fees for the new loans since Apr 1, 2020," said DBS' group head of SME banking Joyce Teo.