New crisis guarantee programme for loans and factoring limits at Bank Millennium

Bank Millennium participates in 4 programmes securing loan repayment. These are: de minimis guarantees, Biznesmax guarantees, liquidity guarantees, and a completely new crisis guarantee program. The existing guarantee programmes implemented with BGK have been extended on the so-called "covid terms" until the end of this year. The exception is the liquidity guarantee programme for a selected group of clients, which ended on 30 June this year. Its "successor" are the crisis guarantees launched by the bank, which are aimed at supporting companies affected by the economic consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine. These guarantees may secure loans, reverse factoring limits granted to finance the company's current operations and investments carried out by clients.

- Bank Millennium has been cooperating with BGK for many years, offering to businesses solutions which make their day-to-day operation easier. BGK guarantees implemented under several programmes allow entrepreneurs to access financing in the most difficult moments for the economy, such as the more than two-year pandemic period and the current war in Ukraine - said Iwona Kęsik, Product Manager in the Corporate Banking Marketing Department of Bank Millennium.

- Active participation in the programme is part and parcel of the bank’s strategy to support businesses in terms of liquidity as well as financing development needs in the form of investments – informed Andrzej Gliński, Member of the Management Board of Bank Millennium. - We have high hopes for the works on new proposals that will appear on the market at the turn of 2022 and 2023. We hope that a programme such as Biznesmax guarantees will be implemented in a new and even more attractive version of the European Funds for the Modern Economy (FENG).

New crisis guarantees for loans and factoring limits are:,

• A programme for medium and large enterprises (in the case of factoring, also small ones), securing a loan or factoring limit in PLN or foreign currency in the amount of 80% of the capital. The customer should meet the so-called "crisis" criteria as at the date of submitting the application or as at 1 February 2022.
• Maximum amount of the guarantee is PLN 200 million while the maximum guarantee term is:
  - 39 months for loans financing current activity
  - 72 months for investment loans
  - 27 months for factoring limit.
• Exposure under loans and factoring limits with a liquidity or crisis guarantee may not exceed PLN 250 million.
• The maximum amount is determined on the basis of: 15% of the average annual turnover for the last 3 closed accounting periods or 50% of the energy costs for the period of 12 months before the application for a guarantee is submitted.

In case of the de minimis guarantee programme (programme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises), until the end of 2022 entrepreneurs are exempt from the fee for the first year of using the guarantee and 80% cover is provided. The maximum period of a guarantee is 75 months for working capital loans and up to 120 months for investment loans. De minimis guarantee amount is the equivalent of EUR 1.5 million at maximum.

Biznesmax guarantees are a unique combination of guarantees and subsidies. Under the programme a company uses loan security and may get partial or full refund of the interest paid to the bank. It is also a programme for micro, small and medium-sized companies that guarantees loan repayment in PLN. It is available under two types of state aid: regional aid or de minimis aid. The guarantees are free throughout the validity period.

• Until the end of 2022, the guarantees are available under special terms - they support company’s investments and financial liquidity, secure up to 80% of the loan principal value, they may be granted for up to 20 years and up to the equivalent of EUR 2.5 million.
• An important feature is the loan interest additional payment, even up to 100% of the interest. It is an additional benefit, which is not provided in other BGK guarantee programmes, and significantly reduces the cost of the loan granted.

Depending on the customer's preferences, the process of applying for financing with a BGK guarantee at Bank Millennium is performed in a traditional way or using digital channels and a qualified signature.