State Bank of Pakistan announced refinance scheme for businesses over coronavirus outbreak
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ISLAMABAD - State Bank of Pakistan announced refinance scheme for businesses over coronavirus outbreak.
The State Bank of Pakistan has announced a temporary refinance scheme for businesses to support the employment of workers during the coronavirus outbreak.
It gives businesses incentive to not layoff its workers.
The scheme will be available to all businesses in Pakistan through banks and cover all types of employees, including permanent, contractual, daily wages and outsourced workers.
It will provide financing for wages and salaries expense for three months from April to June 2020 for businesses which do not layoff their employees for these three months.
The mark-up on the loans under this scheme will be up to 5%, reads a press statement issued by the SBP Friday night.
Borrowers that are on the active taxpayers list will be able to get loans at a further reduced mark-up rate of 4%. The scheme has been designed to give preference to smaller businesses.
“Businesses with a three month wage and salary expense of up to Rs200 million will be able to avail the full amount of their expense in financing while those with a three month wage and salary expense of greater than Rs500 million will be able to avail up to 50% of their expense,” the statement reads.
Banks will not charge any loan processing fee, credit limit fee or prepayment penalties for loans under this scheme.
A grace period of six months will be allowed to the borrowers while the repayment of the principal amount will be made in two years.
Banks will provide weekly reporting to SBP.