The Russian Farmers were given the opportunity of semi-annual payment extension of their soft loans expiring in 2022.
It is specified, that this only refers to payments falling due from March 1, 2022 to May 31, 2022. “If the repayment holiday is approved by the bank, a six-month extension can be granted,” claims the government.
The short-term soft loans, that come due in 2022, can also be extended by a period of one year.
It is noted that Russian farmers can lower their monthly payments and reduce debt ratio.
Besides, there is a number of measures aimed to support the banks that participate in the Soft Loan Program. “The subsidized interest rate on the issued shot-term loans has been raised to 100% of key rate of the Central Bank of Russia,” the Cabinet says in the statement.
It’s been emphasized that despite the decision of the Bank of Russia to raise its benchmark policy rate, the preferential rate of 5% per annum will remain unchanged. “New loans are subject to the same conditions,” specifically notes the government.
The Soft Loan Program for Russian farmers was launched in 2017. It provides for short-term or investment loan with an interest rate up to 5% to support agricultural production such as livestock and crop farming, as well as for construction, reconstruction or modernization of agro-processing facilities. The short-term soft loans have a maturity of up to one year, the investment loans are to be paid within the period of 2 to 15 years.
