Companies and small businesses have a great chance to obtain loan guarantees in 2009 too. The reason is that the Government's package of measures designed to combat the economic recession also contains an increase in the funds earmarked for guaranteeing loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2009, the Government will increase the guarantee fund, from which operating loan guarantees are provided, by CZK 1.8 billion.
In selected industries, businesses can newly obtain guarantees for operating loans too. "At the end of April 2009, Komerční banka and ČMZRB signed a co-operation agreement that makes it possible to use operating loan guarantees," says Lucie Kudrnová, Head of Marketing Corporates & Municipalities.
Thanks to the reduced credit risk, which is secured by ČMZRB guarantees, banks can provide more business loans under more favourable conditions. ČMZRB guarantees can be issued for up to 80% of the principal of the loan, with a maturity of up to 15 years. Small and medium-sized enterprises that operate in selected industries and services are eligible for these guarantees. They must not have more than 250 employees, their annual turnover must not exceed CZK 1.3 billion, and their total assets must not be worth more than CZK 1.1 billion. Clients pay an annual fee of 0.1 to 0.3 per cent of the value of the guarantee for the guarantee issued to them.
It is easy to use ČMZRB guarantees at Komerční banka. In discussing a loan, the client proposes to secure the loan by a ČMZRB guarantee. The KB corporate banker fills the preliminary details about the planned loan in a simple form for the client, and the client attaches this form to his application for a ČMZRB guarantee. Subsequently, the client brings a letter of guarantee, confirming that ČMZRB will provide the guarantee, back to his corporate banker at KB. Depending on its type, the guarantee can be obtained within a few business days.
Together with the increase in the amount of the funds earmarked for the provision of guarantees, also the conditions for using guarantees have changed. From now on, businesses can combine the GUARANTEE scheme with the following subsidy schemes under Operational Programme Enterprise and Innovation: Development, ICT and Strategic Services, ICT in Enterprises, Eko-energie, Innovation-Project, Potential, Prosperity, Training Centres, and Real Estate. If the applicant opts for a combination of a guarantee and a subsidy, he must write the same name of the project on all documents and attach the calculated amount of public aid from ČMZRB to the application for a subsidy; the public aid will be deducted from the amount of the subsidy. Komerční banka's experts will be happy to help applicants with the calculation.
"ČMZRB guarantee is also a suitable way of securing loans intended for the co-financing or pre-financing of projects financed from EU contributions," adds Jan Hanuš, who is in charge of the contributions at KB.
In addition to corporate bankers, regional specialists of KB EU Point therefore also help KB's clients. For example, as part of the KB EU Point concept, Komerční banka's relationship managers will search, free of charge, for subsidy schemes appropriate for each specific project and the bank's EU regional specialists will provide consultations right on the spot, on the project site. Specialised companies with proven experience and expertise then prepare applications for subsidies and take care of complete project administration for KB's clients. Recommending the optimum project financing, compliant with the subsidy conditions, is a matter of course in dealing with EU projects.
Detailed information about the business loans offered by Komerční banka and the services provided by its specialised KB EU Point is available from any Komerční banka branch, at toll-free KB information line 800 900 930, or at www.eupoint.cz.
Komerční banka is one of the best run universal banks in Central Europe. It provides comprehensive services to clients in the areas of retail, corporate, and investment banking. The Komerční banka Group's 8,930 employees serve 1,632,000 clients, who can use an extensive network of 397 points of sale throughout the country. Komerční banka currently operates 679 ATMs and more than 958,000 of its clients use one of direct banking channels.
Komerční banka is part of the Société Générale Group, one of the largest banking groups in the euro zone (in terms of market capitalisation), whose 163,000 employees serve more than 30 million individual clients worldwide.