Loan Purposes
Finance must be used for one or both of the following purposes:
- Working capital (including liquidity needs)
- Investment
As part of the SBCI application process, borrowers must sign a declaration (which may be subject to audit) that they meet the eligibility criteria and the applicable state aid rules.
Loan amount criteria
The amount of credit that can be obtained by borrowers under the scheme (whether under one or more finance agreements) is subject to the scheme rules and the Temporary Crisis Framework.
The maximum amount of credit per borrower under the scheme cannot exceed €1 million, and will in most circumstances be determined by one of the following two criteria:
- 15% of the borrower’s average total annual turnover over the last three accounting periods; OR
- 50% of the borrower’s energy costs over the 12 months preceding the month when the application for credit is submitted.
If they are a microenterprise and do not fit under the above two points, applicants may be able to borrow to fund their anticipated liquidity needs for 12 months.
Credit unions may require borrowers to provide them with certain evidence before deciding whether, and under what conditions, they might grant them a loan. These requirements vary but are likely to include Financial accounts/ Form 11/ Bank statement/ Business Plan.
Excluded Activities
- Finance of pure real estate development activity
- Finance of activities constituting pure financial transactions (e.g., purchase of shares)
- Loans to undertakings in difficulty
- Finance of activities forbidden by national or EU law
- Finance of the acquisition of road freight transport vehicles by undertakings performing road freight transport for hire or reward.
- Finance of export-specific activities, namely funding directly linked to the quantities exported, to the establishment and operation of a distribution network or to other current expenditure linked to the export activity, or finance contingent upon the use of domestic over imported products. In particular, it should not apply to financing the establishment and operation of a distribution network in other States, or current expenditure linked to the export activity; and
- Purchase of Agri land.
State Aid
The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme currently operates under the EU “Temporary Crisis Framework” (TCF) for State aid measures to support the economy following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine.
NACE
NACE is the standard system used in the European Union for classifying business activity. See the NACE codes eligible under this scheme here.