Agenda

THE NETHERLANDS: BROADENING THE GUARANTEE FOR MKB LOANS: BMKB

24/03/2020

In order to help entrepreneurs affected by the corona crisis, the rules for the Guarantee of MKB (small and medium-sized enterprises) loans (BMKB)  have been eased. This amended scheme is effective from March 16, 2020. The measure allows companies to borrow money from the bank under more favorable conditions. The BMKB is intended for companies with a maximum of 250 employees (FTE) with an annual turnover of up to 50 million euros or a balance sheet total of 43 million euros.

With the measure, the Dutch government wants to prevent companies that are affected by the consequences of the corona virus from getting into liquidity problems. The Dutch government partly guarantees companies that want to take out a loan, but cannot offer enough guarantees to the financier (especially banks). This allows the entrepreneur to borrow more. Applications for BMKB can be submitted to the financier.

What does the scheme entail in concrete terms?

  • The government guarantees 90% of the loan amount. 75% of a bridging loan can be financed by BMKB.
  • The entrepreneur's personal deposit has been reduced from 25% to 10%.
  • The credit risk portion of the bank may take the form of a new loan, a new overdraft (overdraft) or an increase in an existing overdraft.
  • The maximum credit has been set at 1.5 million euros.
  • The maximum term of the BMKB credit is 8 quarters.
  • The method of repayment is the choice of the bank. The options are:
  1. Linear (the same amount + interest on the outstanding amount each time), possibly with a grace period.
  2. Suddenly, at the end of the term.
  • The test for a shortage of securities is not an issue when using BMKB.
  • The enterpreneur does not apply for the scheme itself, but only an accredited financier can make use of the scheme. Usually that's the bank of the enterpreneur. The accredited financiers are listed on the RVO website. To speed up the procedure, the government has made agreements with banks about the assessment of credit applications. They can therefore handle the application of BMKB-C without the intervention of RVO.