Hellenic Development Bank

In just seven hours, as many as 10,000 companies applied for low-interest loans that are guaranteed by the state through the Guarantee Fund, exhausting the amount available at this initial stage of the process, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced on Thursday.

There is strong competition among banks for participation in the Guarantee Fund for the provision of state-subsidized liquidity to Greek enterprises, with 14 lenders expressing an interest in response to the invitation published by the Hellenic Development Bank.

Only healthy and consistent enterprises will have access to the state-guaranteed working capital funded by commercial banks and the Guarantee Fund.

The European Commission gave a fresh boost to the Greek economy on Friday by approving a lifeline of 2 billion euros for the country's businesses.

Greece had requested support in the form of loan collateral that will be granted to local banks through the Hellenic Development Bank, so as to cover loans for corporate liquidity.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, Development and Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis and French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, signed a declaration of intent on the Greek-French economic partnership in Paris on Wednesday, aimed at boosting investments.

After four years of announcements and negotiations with the country's creditors, the bill for the creation of the Hellenic Development Bank was put up for public consultation this week.

The government intends to bring clauses for the restructuring of tax and social security debts to Parliament in the next 10-15 days, despite the European Commission report saying that the issue has been put on ice, Kathimerini understands.