Background information

The corona bridging loans for small companies (KKC) is one of the additional measures to support entrepreneurs due to the economic consequences of the pandemic. This additional measure is aimed at micro and small and medium enterprises. These enterprises often have difficulty accessing financial support. They are of enormous importance to their local community and often hit hard by the pandemic.

Content of measure

The KKC is a government-provided loan guarantee of 95% for small companies who need between €10,000 and €50,000 in credit with a budget of €750 million.

To be eligible for the KKC:

• An enterprise must, among other things, be registered with the Chamber of Commerce before 1 January 2019.
• Loans issued since May 7, 2020 that meet the conditions can be refinanced under the terms of the KKC.
• Loans are only provided to companies that were fundamentally financially healthy before COVID-19 with sufficient repayment capacity.
• The term of the loan is a maximum of 5 years and the interest is a maximum of 4%.
• In addition, entrepreneurs pay the state a one-off compensation premium of 2%. The credit serves to finance the loss suffered or foreseeable as a result of the pandemic.

This measure has been approved by the European Commission.

Use of measure

Central Statistics Office data shows that a total number of 1,820 companies made use of this measure, for a total amount of €58 million (CBS, 2021).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Solo-self-employed SMEs One person or microenterprises Start-ups	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Employers' organisations	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Consulted
Form	Not applicable	Direct consultation outside a formal body

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Only employers' organisations
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

This measure was partly initiated by the banks. The banks carefully assess the credit application. Rabobank, ABN AMRO, ING, de Volksbank and Triodos have committed to offer loans through KKC.

Views and reactions

The Dutch Banking Association (NVB) is pleased with the measure for companies with a financing need of up to €50,000. The NVB stresses the importance of this measure in combination with other existing measures. This will help enterprises in persisting the crisis.

Sources

• 08 April 2021: Kamer van Koophandel (2020). KKC: kredietregeling voor kleine leningen. (www.kvk.nl)
• 08 April 2021: Nederlandse Vereniging van Banken (2020). Banken blij met regeling voor kleine kredieten. (www.nvb.nl)
• 08 April 2021: Rijksdienst Voor Ondernemend Nederland (2021) Kleine Kredieten Corona garantieregeling (KKC). (www.rvo.nl)
• 08 April 2021: Rijksoverheid (2021).KKC-regeling: Klein Krediet Corona (www.rijksoverheid.nl)
• 30 September 2021: Hoeveel bedrijven gebruiken steunmaatregelen coronacrisis door de overheid? (www.cbs.nl)