Bank of Valletta, together with the Malta Development Bank (MDB), have launched the 'BOV-MDB COVID Assist', a financing scheme aimed at assisting local businesses facing unprecedented disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The BOV-MDB COVID Assist (BMCA) has been developed under the "MDB COVID-19 Guarantee Scheme" to provide access to finance for all types of local businesses, facing COVID-19 related challenges, be it Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) or large enterprises. It will enable them to meet working capital requirements, aiding them with running costs such as employees' wages and salaries, bills, pending invoices, acquisition of stock, maintenance costs and expenses that are critical for the smooth running of the business.  

SMEs can take up to a maximum loan amount of €4 million, while large enterprises can apply for up to €8 million, always subject to bank's approval. Repayment terms can range between 18 and 72 months, with an inclusive moratorium period of six-months that can be extended to twelve months depending on particular circumstances of the business.

"Once again, Bank of Valletta will be supporting the local business community by providing much needed liquidity and working capital facilities in these challenging times," stated Albert Frendo, Chief Credit Officer at Bank of Valletta. "Right at the start of this pandemic, we launched a number of initiatives to assist our business customers. Now, through our long-term collaboration with MDB, we shall be offering further credit supportive measures with attractive, all-inclusive interest rates starting from a fixed rate of 2.5% for the first two years, at no additional fees and charges. We are currently discussing with MDB how business customers will be refunded with the two-year interest rebate, recently announced by the government." 

"At Bank of Valletta, we are determined to ensure that SMEs, which are the drivers of our economy, will benefit from a highly attractive proposition during this difficult period and that the BOV-MDB COVID Assist will provide the much needed liquidity injection to our local businesses and economy", concluded Mr Frendo.

"The Government of Malta has allocated a €350 million fund to the Malta Development Bank to set up and manage the MDB COVID-19 Guarantee Scheme, with the purpose of guaranteeing loans granted by commercial banks to businesses facing unprecedented cash flow disruptions. Bank of Valletta is the first bank which met MDB's criteria and is now accredited to assist its customers under the scheme", declared Professor Josef Bonnici, MDB Chairman. "The BOV-MDB COVID Assist will provide the much-needed breathing space for businesses by ensuring that credit keeps flowing to where it is needed. These funds will be injected directly into businesses of any size or sector which will help the Maltese economy to maintain employment and be in a position to bounce back and resume the pace of economic activity at the earliest opportunity."

This scheme will be available until 31 December 2020. Businesses seeking to avail themselves of the BOV-MDB COVID Assist are to send an email to [email protected], or if they are BOV customers to their Relationship Manager, Business Centre or Corporate Centre. Further information on how to apply can be found on https://www.bov.com/content/bov-mdb-covid19-assist.