PSB became a participant in a new program of preferential loans to SMEs

PSB was selected under the new program of preferential investment lending to SMEs, said Irina Zhimerina, Senior Vice President, head of the small and medium-sized business unit of PSB.

"Given the high level of the key rate and interest rates on standard bank loans, we see a decrease in companies' demand for financing primarily for investment purposes. One of our tasks is to maintain the availability of loans in order to give entrepreneurs the opportunity to expand their business," said Zhimerina, speaking at the plenary session of the V All—Russian Entrepreneurship Support Infrastructure Forum "My Business".

According to her, the bank's participation in the program implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the SME Corporation and the Central Bank will allow the PSB to "finance a number of priority industries at a preferential rate 3.5 percentage points lower than the key one."

The Senior Vice President of the bank added that the terms of the preferential program and umbrella guarantees are integrated into the loan pipeline of the PSB, which accelerates the possibility of obtaining borrowed funds. "Already at the stage when an entrepreneur submits an application online, we can evaluate it for compliance with the terms of preferential lending programs and, if appropriate, automatically adjust the interest rate and the level of expected risk," she explained.

At the forum's plenary session, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said that since 2019, the share of SMEs in the gross regional product has been growing every year: in 2023, the figure was 23.9%. "The figures confirm that SMEs are a key driver of economic growth and job creation in the regions," Reshetnikov stressed.

PSB is also a participant in a preferential program that allows lending to SMEs from new entities at rates not exceeding 10%. In addition, the bank is accredited to work under a preferential program for participants of the Free Economic Zone in new regions.