With a view to providing entrepreneurs as much support as possible, PME MTL has announced a six-month moratorium on capital and interest for its loans. Private businesses and social economy organizations with loans from the Fonds PME MTL, Fonds locaux de Solidarité and the Fonds de commercialisation des innovations will therefore benefit from a payment holiday. This measure does not include future financing granted after March this year.
Collectively, our businesses will save between $1.3 million and $1.7 million.
“Approximately 600 companies will benefit from this very welcome initiative,” said Jean François Lalonde, Executive Director of PME MTL Centre-Est. “Collectively, they will save between $1.3 million and $1.7 million, since the city of Montréal will assume the cost of interest for the next six months.” In addition, businesses will not have to apply for admission to the program, since active borrowers are automatically eligible.
Breathing room for entrepreneurs
This emergency assistance from PME MTL and the City of Montréal gives organizations more leeway to deal with the immediate and future impacts of the pandemic. The moratorium will free up some much needed cash flow to help businesses through the coming months. As an example, a business holding a $175,000 loan at an interest rate of 8.34% would normally have to make monthly payments of $3,576.91. From March to October 2020, total payments would amount to $21,461.46. During the moratorium, the business will not need to pay that amount.
At PME MTL, we are here for small business. For us, it is essential to implement measures adapted to the specific challenges faced by this sector.
For Jean François Lalonde, this initiative is perfectly aligned with assistance for entrepreneurs that has been announced over recent days by both Québec City and Ottawa. “At PME MTL, we are here for small business. We are often the only ones providing financing for entrepreneurs in the sector. We therefore felt it was essential to implement a measure adapted to them and their specific challenges.”
In the meantime, there are about 140 PME MTL professionals who are in daily contact with companies, making sure they have access to the assistance programs being deployed by both levels of government in the context of the current coronavirus crisis. “We are asking our beneficiaries to contact their portfolio managers to find out more about the immediate support available to them.”
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To learn more about the moratorium, please contact your advisor by email or phone. For all other questions, please contact your service center.