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- A break is in the works: credit vacations for SMEs postponed until at least July 2025
A break is in the works: credit vacations for SMEs postponed until at least July 2025
Themechanism of credit vacations for small businesses may not start working before mid-2025, the Central Bank told Izvestia. This refers to the possibility for SMEs to take a break of up to six months without worsening their credit history. In February, President Vladimir Putin proposed to grant small companies such a relaxation, but so far the bill has not even passed the first reading. Such a grace period is needed right now, as it is difficult for small businesses to service their loans against the background of a high key rate. Why they postpone the introduction of this mechanism - in the material "Izvestia".
What will be the credit vacations for small businesses?
Credit vacations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and the self-employed may appear in Russia no earlier than mid-2025. This was stated to "Izvestia" in the press service of the Central Bank.
This mechanism was announced by President Vladimir Putin in his address to the Federal Assembly in February 2024. He proposed to give non-large businesses the right once in five years to take a credit vacation for up to six months without worsening the credit history. According to the head of state, it is necessary to create conditions for companies to develop dynamically.
Later, the Kremlin website published an instruction with a deadline of June 1, 2024. It was submitted to the State Duma only on July 30, and so far it has not passed the first reading. At the same time , after the adoption of the document will come into force only in 180 days, emphasized the Central Bank.
The maximum size of the loan, for which it is planned to provide a grace period, for microenterprises will amount to Br60 million, for small businesses - Br400 million, for medium-sized enterprises - Br1 billion, and for the self-employed - Br10 million, the Central Bank added. In this case, the grace period want to issue simply at the request of the borrower, it will not be subject to special requirements, for example, to reduce the volume of revenue.
It is assumed that during the grace period interest will be charged at the rate provided for in the contract. However, if the key rate changes by more than 50% of the value in the document, the interest will be charged at the rate of the key rate + 1 p.p., the Central Bank explained. At the end of the credit vacation, interest will be charged at the rate stipulated in the contract. "Izvestia" sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Ecology.
- Credit vacations for SMEs and the self-employed are needed to support small businesses that find themselves in a difficult situation. It is also important to reduce the number of bankrupt companies and reduce the risks of lenders themselves, who have to increase reserves for possible losses if the number of bad loans grows," said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
The vacations will help preserve the quality of the loan portfolio and reduce the payment burden on the companies themselves, VTB told Izvestia. The editorial board asked other major banks about their attitude to the projected mechanism.
Why do we need credit vacations for business?
It is especially important to introduce credit vacations against the background of the fact that Russia now has a record high key rate of 21%. Ata time when business is quite seriously indebted, emphasized the coordinator of "Business Russia" in the Central Federal District Dmitry Abbakumov. According to him, such a rate carries systemic risks for the sector.
- Small companies have stopped taking loans, as servicing them is an important and serious task. Credit vacations in this case- a respite, an opportunity to gather strength and service these loans, - he said.
The measure will become even more urgent next year, when from January 1 for SMEs with incomes above 60 million rubles will be introduced value added tax of up to 7%, the expert added.
Many systemically important banks have already rapidly reduced limits and revised rates for SMEs and the self-employed - now small businesses have no protection mechanism, so the introduction of credit vacations is simply necessary, said Alexei Kurasov, head of corporate finance at Finam. He added: a grace period of six months is a normal period for trade and services. However, in the sphere of production, the financial cycle may be longer, so the deferment should be granted for a longer period of time.
Why the authorities postponed the introduction of credit vacations for SMEs
Credit vacations for small businesses will not appear before the middle of 2025, as the process of introducing such a mechanism takes a long time. It needs to be thoroughly worked out - to take into account the interests of the debtor and the creditor, believes Natalia Milchakova from Freedom Finance Global.
According to the expert, special attention should be paid to vacations for the self-employed. In fact, it is a citizen who can apply for a deferment, in particular on a consumer loan or credit card, just as an individual. And then also as a self-employed person.
Before launching this support measure, it is first necessary to think through all the details, emphasized Anna Kornelyuk, Vice President, Director of the Transaction Business Unit of Dom.RF Bank. The financial organization should have an opportunity to analyze the financial situation of the client in order to make a balanced decision.
She added: if the vacations will be granted automatically only on the basis of borrowers' application, it will increase the credit risk of the transaction, which banks will have to put in the terms of the loan and interest rate.
- The postponement of such a grace period for SMEs and the self-employed to the second half of the year is not accidental. It is at the end of 2025 that we may see a combination of crisis processes in the Russian economy combined with problems in the global economy. Borrowers will find it difficult to service loans at high interest rates, and expansion of output and revenue will be extremely difficult," believes independent expert Andrei Barkhota.
Under such conditions, the launch of this support measure will help to prevent default of the majority of small businesses, he added.
However, credit vacations have certain risks for both borrowers and lenders, said Natalia Milchakova. In particular, the financial organization will be selective in providing funds to the company that used the mechanism. And banks, according to Andrei Barkhota, in such a situation will have to increase the efficiency of managing their assets and liabilities.
