Damascus-SANA
The Board of Directors of the Industrial Bank approved a number of amendments to the executive instructions of the bank, which included direct and indirect credit facilities for financing industrial and productive craft projects, rehabilitating damaged facilities in whole or in part, and raising the authority to grant loans and bank guarantees by the credit committees in the administration and branches, with the aim of simplifying procedures, and providing more information. Facilities for borrowers and dealers with the bank.
In a statement to SANA correspondent, the bank's general manager, Wajih Bitar, explained that the amendments to the bank's executive instructions come as a result of improving its performance indicators during the current year, revealing that it was approved to grant financing at 50 percent of the investment costs of the project, which is for the purposes of establishing and expanding industrial and craft projects with medium-term loans. five years or as long as a period not exceeding ten years.
With the aim of easing borrowers, Bitar indicated that an amendment was made to the papers required to obtain facilities for the purposes of establishing and expanding craft industrial projects, stipulating that an economic feasibility study should be submitted for projects whose investment costs exceed 75 million Syrian pounds instead of 10 million pounds as it was previously. The feasibility shall be approved by an auditor.
According to the amendments, of which SANA obtained a copy, it was decided to disburse 30 percent of the loan amount allocated to finance the construction of the project upon the completion of 50 percent of the construction on the structure, 30 percent upon the completion of the entire construction on the structure, and 40 percent of the amount after the completion of the cladding works in full, based on On reports in this regard from the Department of Finance and Investment and a real estate expert.
According to the amendments, new materials were added by spending 30 percent of the financing loan amount after signing the contract if the project was to expand production lines, 40 percent of the amount when installing and operating machines, and 30 percent when registering them in the industrial registry, while it is required to finance ready-made industrial and craft facilities within cities and regions. The industrial sector must be a ready-to-work list based on a statement from the concerned bank branch.
The facilities provided to borrowers with regard to financing the fixed and working capital of the project also included covering the estimated value of the real estate guarantee, if it was owned by the customer and fixed ownership, 200 percent of the loan amount granted, after it was previously required that it cover “the full amount of the loan and its regular interests until the end of the loan period.”
According to the amendments regarding the papers required for the facilities granted to finance working capital, the bank has become required to submit financial statements for the last three years or the date of incorporation, whichever is earlier, in the event that the requested loan exceeds the amount of 75 million Syrian pounds, after it was previously 10 million pounds, provided that the data is approved by finance audit.
With regard to the facilities provided to engineers and contractors, any contractor has the right to benefit from the approval of the guarantees of another contractor with a maximum of 50 percent of the approval, provided that the approval is with a real estate or personal guarantee and with the approval of the personal guarantors. 120 million pounds per office annually, after the maximum was 40 million pounds.
The authority to grant direct credit facilities “loans” to one natural or legal customer or a related group in the bank’s branches 1 and 2 in Damascus was raised to 75 million pounds, and the branches of Hama, Tartous and As-Suwayda to 50 million pounds, and the branches of Homs, Lattakia and Daraya to 30 million pounds, and indirect facilities “industrial guarantees” and Commercial” for all branches to 50 million pounds.
According to the amendments, the authority to grant direct credit facilities “loans” granted with the approval of the Supreme Credit Committee was raised to 150 million pounds after the ceiling was 100 million pounds. The ceiling of guarantees granted to contractors classified as excellent is five billion pounds, and the ceiling of grants to the rest of the contractors according to the degree of classification at the Contractors Syndicate.
It is worth noting that the bank opened, according to the amendments, the lending ceiling above 500 million pounds for priority projects included in Central Bank of Syria Resolution No. 433 and raising the authority of the credit committees in the branches to grant guarantees to contractors to 360 million pounds, while the higher authority of the donor body takes over the settlement of objections to the amounts granted.
It is noteworthy that the Industrial Bank was able, based on Law No. 7 of 2021, to raise its capital to 14 billion Syrian pounds, which contributed to enhancing its financial solvency and financing capabilities to carry out its development role entrusted to it by granting the necessary financing for industrial projects, especially in the reconstruction phase.
Wassim Al-Adawi
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