Families and companies that are struggling due to the corona crisis can benefit from payment deferrals. A state guarantee scheme was also developed for new loans for companies. Especially for SMEs, which are strongly represented in the Belgian entrepreneurial landscape, the measures often provide a welcome portion of breathing space.

When it became apparent that the corona crisis was spreading rapidly and was also putting families and companies to the financial test, the banks - together with Minister of Finance Alexander De Croo and the National Bank of Belgium - developed a banking plan. Thanks to this plan, families and companies can request a payment deferral on their bank credit. A state guarantee scheme was also developed for new credits.

The option to defer payment for current credits is useful and desirable for many private individuals and companies. If we look solely at the companies, we see that payment deferral was used for almost 10% of all loans (9.8% to be exact). The underlying credit volume is 21.3 billion euros.

The figures that Febelfin regularly publishes on this subject (and which will be updated this Friday) show that this concerns more than 130,000 payment deferrals granted for companies. More than 80% of this is granted to self-employed people and SMEs.

SMEs - strongly represented in Belgium - therefore belong to one of the four categories of entrepreneurs that most often request payment deferrals:

The banks are playing their role during the corona crisis to support society and the economy, both in terms of granting payment deferrals and granting new loans.

The general observation: lending to companies remains at the same level, even in sectors that have been (more) affected by the crisis. Their share in the total number of new loans in recent months has remained unchanged compared to the period before the crisis. We see the same thing with loans to SMEs.

There is therefore no question of a credit crunch or “drying up” of bank credit.

Banks always check on a case-by-case basis whether granting (additional) credit is responsible. That assessment appears to work. In May, no significant increase was noted in arrears on the loans given. The banks will continue to provide credit in this well-considered manner in the coming period, to ensure a healthy and sustainable recovery of the economy.

Currently, 3.2% of all new loans fall under the state guarantee scheme. This corresponds to approximately 737 million euros. 78.8% of the new loans fell outside the scope (including due to a longer term).

Less than 4% of loan applications under guarantee were refused by the banks.

These figures - and the apparently limited success of the state guarantee scheme - must be read in the correct context. The state guarantee scheme was a (relatively) quick response in the initial phase of the emerging crisis for credits and credit lines with a maximum term of 12 months. The needs of companies have now evolved towards loans with a longer term. The new guarantee scheme that is currently in development will provide an answer to this.