Malta Development Bank supports €29.3 million in investments for 96 local SME projects

Malta Development Bank announced on Friday that it has sanctioned €29.3 million in funds, to 96 facilities/projects through its Loan Guarantee Scheme for SMEs.

The investments are intermediated through Bank of Valletta, implementing partner of the SME Invest Scheme. 

The Malta Development Bank said that the scheme has helped by “enabling businesses, at this challenging time, to undertake new investments exceeding €29 million.”

Josef Bonnici, chairman of the Malta Development Bank, was pleased with Bank’s support so far, saying “it is truly encouraging for the Bank to be able to support businesses in not only surviving through the current situation but actually to grow and innovate their product and service offering.”

The Bank said that the average loan size under this scheme was €305,000.

The scheme helps businesses access loans, by reducing the collateral obligations, and facilitating more attractive interests rate through an 80 per cent guarantee provided by the Bank under the scheme.

Over the course of the pandemic, the Malta Development Bank has introduced a number of mutually supportive facilities for business impacted by COVID.

These are the COVID Guarantee Scheme, which provides a guarantee to commercial banks so they can provide working capital loans to support all types of businesses, the COVID Interest Rate Subsidy Scheme which provides a grant on interest payable on loans taken through the aforementioned Guarantee Scheme, and finally the Small Loans Guarantee Scheme, which helps smaller businesses access credit facilities.

Main photo: Malta Development Bank