(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) Amman, May 31 (Petra) -- The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has approved borrowing requests from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for JD233 million as part of a JD500-million tranche the bank has recently injected in the banking system to shore up businesses' resilience against the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.
In a statement, the CBJ said that local banks have so far received 4,088 loan requests from small and medium enterprises to access some JD470-million of the program. It added that around 2,341 requests, or 57,3 of the total requests received, for JD233 million, have been endorsed.
The funding program is intended to help SMEs maintain their sustainability, finance operating expenses and keep employees. The majority (73 percent) of the loan requests received ask for funding less than JD250,000, the Bank said, adding that the value of requested loans averaged JD99,000.
About 34.6 percent of the approved requests came from wholesalers and retailers, followed by the manufacturing and education sectors at 20.5 and 7.7 percent respectively. Furthermore, JD116 million or 50 percent of approved requests was provided to finance payrolls, serving more than 52,000 workers.
Noteworthy, the CBJ provided facilities for JD29.9 million outside the SMEs lending program helping pay the salaries of more than 26,000 employees. These facilities were offered as part of a JD1.2 billion soft lending program.
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31/05/2020 15:15:18
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