Chapter III: In the final stage, the Greek Development Bank programme for small and medium-sized enterprises

The launch of TEPIX III, the Greek Development Programme (HDB), is rapidly approaching, aiming to give a “breath” to small and medium-sized enterprises seeking funding on favourable terms. Just two days ago, on Tuesday (26.3.2024) the deadline set by HDB in its invitation to banks ended in order to express interest in their participation in TEPIX III and the next steps are now expected on the part of banks. TEPIX III guarantees newly created enterprises 80% and 70% of loan financing in existence, while 2 units of interest will be paid by the companies. In the guarantee arm, 40% of the loan will be at zero interest rates and the remaining 60% at three percentage points. The programme budget is EUR 500 million and with leverage through the banking system, a loan portfolio of more than EUR 2.1 billion is expected to be created. It is noted that TEPIX III is a portfolio fund, in which the Guarantee Fund (EUR 300 million) and the Co-financing Fund (EUR 200 million) will operate in principle, while its predecessor, TEPIX II, was only a co-financing fund. TEPIX III also provides loans with a two-year interest subsidy, both for working capital and investment projects. TEPIX III is part of the implementation of the NSRF 2021 – 2027 Competitiveness Programme and is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Overall, the Competitiveness 2021-2027 Programme with a financial envelope of around EUR 3.9 billion Public Expenditure, of which EUR 3.1 billion comes from Community resources from the ERDF and ESF+ Funds sets priorities for strengthening the productive potential of the economy and human skills involved.