Kazan Mayor: terms of preferential lending to small businesses should be revised
(KZN.RU, January 23, by Alisa Rozanova). Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin supported the proposed improvements to the municipal program of preferential loans to small businesses. In particular, he recommended increasing the maximum loan amount twice - up to 10 million rubles - and the loan period - from 2 to 5 years.
Preferential loans to small business have been available in Kazan since 2007. Under the current terms, an entrepreneur receives a credit of up to 5 million rubles for up to two years. Each year the interest rates on such loans have been lowered - from 14% in 2009 to 12% in 2010 and to 9% in 2011.
During this time, 215 representatives of small business received loans in the amount of 554 million rubles. In 2011, loans totaling $113.5 million rubles were issued to 35 entrepreneurs. To compensate for the interest payments, 5.7 million rubles were allocated from the city budget under the program.