State's exposure in loan deferral scheme at EUR 2.6 billion
Ljubljana - Banks and savings banks in Slovenia received until the end of February a total of 28,485 applications under the government's scheme that enables loan takers to request a deferral of loan payments. More than 85% of the applications have been approved, with the total exposure related to these loans amounting to EUR 2.6 billion.
The Banka Slovenije central bank reported on Friday that more than 85% of the applications had been approved, and around 12% rejected, with the remaining applications still being processed.
A majority of the loans related to the applications are due in the coming months, and it is when an increase in credit risk is expected to increase the most.
By far the largest number of applications as received when the epidemic was declared for the first time in the spring - around 15,400 in April and around 6,800 in May. The monthly number was dropping from then on until last September.
The number started to rise again in October as the epidemic was declared for the second time. By this February, the number dropped to 726.
The exposure related to all applications submitted between April 2020 and this February is EUR 3.05 billion, while the exposure to the approved applications is EUR 2.6 billion.
In that period, banks and savings banks in Slovenia also approved 1,393 applications from companies for new liquidity loans related to the coronavirus crisis, with the total exposure standing at EUR 550.6 million.
Out of this number, a total of 90 loans were approved under the law enabling crediting of companies with state guarantees, whose total value is EUR 72.6 million.
The available quota stands at EUR 1.92 billion, as the state has reserved a total of EUR 2 billion for this purpose. The relevant guarantee scheme for companies has been extended until the end of June.
The scheme that enables loan takers to request a deferral of loan payment is meanwhile expiring, and business chambers have called on the government to extend it.
The appeal came just after Banka Slovenije said this measure had "served its purpose" and was not sustainable in the long term.