One billion euros released for companies on the verge of bankruptcy

4/10/2020, 8:46:11 PM

To help the treasury of SMEs and mid-caps in great difficulty, the economic and social development fund will be matched up to one billion euros, against 75 million currently.

The government has decided to give massive support to companies on the verge of bankruptcy or already subject to collective proceedings. The economic and social development fund (FDES), which provides loans to companies in difficulty followed by Bercy, sees its budget drop from 75 million euros to… one billion this year. "We do not refrain from raising it again if necessary, even if we have had margins with this first increase," they say in Bercy.

Read also: Coronavirus: Bercy could soften access to the solidarity fund

This effort, envisaged from the first days of containment, was necessary. Companies in poor financial form (rated above 5+ at the Banque de France) and those in collective proceedings (safeguard, recovery, liquidation) are not eligible for new loans guaranteed by the State (PGE), in under European rules. And the solidarity fund is only intended for very small businesses. Another tool was needed for the mass of companies on the wire. "The government is committed to ensuring that no society