Russia has launched a new preferential program aimed at restoring business

At the instruction of the President Vladimir Putin, Russia has launched a new preferential loan program at 3%, aimed at restoring business of the affected industries and further employment preserving. 

The program is called "FOT 3.0" and replaced the similar program of the Government of the Russian Federation "FOT 2.0", operating during the pandemic and the restrictive measures caused by it. It needs to be reminded that the loan program at 2 % was in high demand among Tatarstan entrepreneurs. In total, under the program, banks in the republic issued 6.523 loans in the amount of more than 13.6 billion rubles. 

The Government of the Russian Federation notes that not all small and medium-sized businesses have returned to the pre-crisis level, and therefore it was decided to extend the preferential loan program, but in a new format. According to the terms of the support program, the final rate on a business loan will be 3%, and the state will subsidize banks with 6%. The loan is issued for a period of up to 12 months, while during the first half of the year the borrower will not pay the principal and interest on the loan, whereas in the second half of the year it can be done in equal parts monthly.

Not only small and medium-sized businesses, but also large companies from the least recovered industries will be able to participate in the program. These include the hotel and restaurant business, culture, tourism, sports and entertainment. It is worth noting that access to the program, as in the case of "FOT 2.0", will be granted to micro - and small enterprises using the main or additional OKVED codes. Medium and large enterprises – only for the main one.

The amount of the loan will depend on the number of employees working in the organization. The maximum loan amount will be determined based on the minimum wage (12.792 rubles) for each employee for 12 months, but not more than 500 million rubles. The loan agreement must be concluded from March 9 to July 1, 2021

 The guarantor will be the state represented by VEB.RF – 75% of the principal amount and interest is covered by the guarantee of VEB.RF, which will expand the access of companies to the credit.

It is planned to allocate 7.7 billion rubles from the Reserve Fund of the Russian Federation for the implementation of the program. According to the Government of the Russian Federation, 75 thousand enterprises, where 1.5 million people are employed, will be able to use the mechanism.