Nayrouz News Agency : The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), since the onset of the pandemic until July 16, has approved 3,942 loan requests at a value of JD380.8 million, within the JD500 million COVID-19-hit SMEs support programme.

The CBJ on Monday said that the approved requests received 76.2 per cent of the total amount allocated for the support programme, noting that the average amount of approved loans reached JD96,600, while the value of 95 per cent of approved loans is less than JD250,000. 

Regarding the distribution of loans approved within the JD500 million programme among various sectors, the wholesale and retail sector received 36.5 per cent of the approved loans, followed by the manufacturing sector at 19.8 per cent, while the value of loans offered within the programme to cover salaries and workers’ wages reached 43 per cent of the approved applications, at a value of approximately JD163 million, serving 79,000 employees who are still working, the CBJ said. 

In addition to the JD500 million programme, the CBJ, since the onset of COVID-19 crisis, has provided facilities valued at JD144.2 million, offered through the JD1.2 billion soft financing programme, which has contributed in providing salaries for about 38,100 workers, bringing the total for salaries to JD208.4 million, that served nearly 117,200 workers on the job, Petra added.

The CBJ’s JD1.2 billion soft financing programme has so far contributed to financing 1,272 projects at a value of around JD915 million, creating around 12,116 new job opportunities across the Kingdom.

In a circular issued on Monday, the CBJ called on banks to "be flexible” with loan postponement requests submitted by people who face pay cuts.

On March 15 of 2020, the CBJ urged banks to postpone due installments of all those whose cash flows were negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic.