The fear that the ICO loans requested during the pandemic will become a heavy burden for the 4,900 beneficiary companies from Burgos is dissipated: there are no runaway defaults and no barrage of bankruptcies. As of today, it is estimated that more than half of the 901 million euros financed to deal with the economic and social impact of the health crisis and to encourage recovery have been repaid and continue to do so at a “good pace”. Delinquency is low, among other things, because a “significant” number of businesses – more than half of those involved – have accepted the extension of repayment periods approved by the Government in the middle of this year.
In the province, according to the latest public data from the Official Credit Institute (ICO), 901 million euros were financed to 4,900 companies (SMEs, micro-SMEs and the self-employed) in a total of 8,867 operations. Most of them, 7,721, corresponded to the ICO-Liquidity guarantee line, approved three days after the decree of the state of alarm (on March 17, 2020) and focused on extraordinary measures to deal with the economic and social impact of the pandemic. There were 4,557 companies applying, with a total of 614.1 million in guarantees for a total financing of 789.1 million.
In July of the year of the pandemic, the line-ICOInversión was approved, aimed at supporting the reactivation of the economy and employment. 867 local companies adhered to this second option with 1,146 operations signed. The guarantees reached 88.6 million and total financing, 111.7 million, according to the latest data made public by the ICO.
(More information in today’s paper edition of Diario de Burgos)