2024-01-08 20:10:24
Bercy intends to grant a little more respite to companies in difficulty, who will have three more years to request the extension of the maturities of state-guaranteed loans (PGE) from which they benefited during the pandemic. The Minister of the Economy Bruno Lemaire announced on Sunday January 7 that the agreement which made it possible to reschedule these loans will be extended until December 31, 2026.
“This will save some businesses. I have always said that the state-guaranteed loan was there to support businesses, not to be a burden.indicated the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire on France 3. So if some companies still have difficulty repaying, they can continue to reschedule.”
“28% of borrowers find it increasingly difficult to repay”
The EMP system, launched at the end of March 2020 during the first confinement, was designed as an immediate response to the difficulties faced by businesses linked to the health crisis. The aim was to relieve their cash flow, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and very small enterprises (VSEs), by allowing them to obtain bank loans at low interest rates (between 1 and 2.5%). representing up to 25% of turnover. It was originally planned to be able to spread repayments over six years, with the first repayment deadlines after only one year. In the event of non-payment, the State covers between 70% and 90% of the amount.
With nearly 700,000 loans for a total amount of 146 billion euros, including 106 billion for SMEs and VSEs, the system made it possible to keep businesses afloat during the health crisis, but it also increased their debt. More than 50 billion euros have already been repaid, but “28% of borrowers find it increasingly difficult to repay”assures Jean-Eudes du Mesnil, secretary general of the Confederation of SMEs, which published an economic survey in December 2023.
An “amicable” agreement
A market agreement, signed in January 2022 between Bercy, the banks and the Banque de France, allowed SMEs and VSEs to call on Credit Mediation, managed by the Banque de France, to review “amicably” , their EMP, spread the repayments over two to four additional years. Signed for one year, the agreement had already been extended until the end of 2023, benefiting 560 companies.
This new extension, by which the State defers the need to implement its guarantee, comes two days after the Bank of France reported an increase in business bankruptcies. Up 34% in 2023 compared to 2022, the failure rate returns to its 2019 pre-covid levels. “This acceleration is a catch-up effect, after a freezing of bankruptcies by State intervention”moderates Denis Ferrand, general director of Rexecode, an institute of private economic studies.
However, this figure also reveals the poor health of businesses. Already weakened by the pandemic, they have since had to face rising energy prices, rising interest rates, as well as inflation: “The companies are caught between the increase in prices from their suppliers and the pressure from their customers demanding a reduction in their prices”notes Jean-Eudes du Mesnil.
Mediation generates a default
Bruno Le Maire’s announcement, however, leaves him skeptical. The problem, according to him, is that resorting to mediation generates a bank default, which makes it impossible to obtain any financing subsequently. “There were only 560 companies, that’s because it doesn’t work, underlines Jean-Eudes du Mesnil. There are many more who are in difficulty, but they don’t go there, because they tell themselves that they will be finished. » The employers’ organization is campaigning to remove this default, so that more companies can access the system.
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