Norm regarding the state aid granted to the large and medium-sized companies consisting of subsidized interest loans and credit guarantees, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Terms and scope
The Norm establishes a state aid scheme in the form of loans with subsidized interest having as
objective the unblocking of the access to financing of the companies that face a liquidity deficit generated
by the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to ensure the continuity in their activity.
Thus, EximBank grants State aid in the form of loans (cash, nonrevolving facilities) with subsidized
interest in RON, in the name and on behalf of the state, for making investments and / or for supporting
the current activity. According to this scheme, EximBank NCS grants loans to companies that submit the
financing file until no later than November 30, 2020, and the granting of loans (signing of credit
agreements) is done until no later than 31 December 2020.
Types of loans that can be granted
Under the Scheme, EximBank NCS grants loans for investment or working capital. The Norm
contains provisions regarding the maximum value of a loan, the maximum duration of the loan, as well
as references to the interest charged by EximBank NCS for these loans, as follows:
A. The maximum amount of a loan may not exceed:
a) twice the annual value of the beneficiary’s salary expenses from 2019 (including social contributions
and the costs of staff working at the company’s work points, but it is officially on the payroll of
subcontractors) or for the last available year. In the case of companies established after January 1, 2019,
the maximum amount of credit will not exceed the estimated annual amount of salary expenses for the
first 2 years of activity;
b) 25% of the total turnover of the beneficiary in 2019;
c) the estimated liquidity requirement of the beneficiary over a period of 18 months (in the case of SMEs),
respectively 12 months (in the case of in the case of large enterprises).

B. Maximum credit term (which includes the grace period for the payment of credit installments,
where applicable case) is 6 years, in the case of investment loans or 4 years, in case of working
capital loans.
C. For loans granted, EximBank NCS charges interest consisting of:
a) the basic rate, represented by the 3-month ROBOR rate, reviewable quarterly, which cannot
fall below the level established within the Norm;
b) risk margin, established differently depending on the beneficiary and the duration of the loan.
EximBank NCS may grant a beneficiary one or more loans under the Scheme, provided that their
cumulative value falls within the limits mentioned above.
Please keep in mind that, according to the Norm, the granted loans may not be used to refinance
other loans or to refinance expenditure already performed by the beneficiaries. Furthermore, loans
may not be used for the payment of dividends or for the repayment of loans granted by associates /
shareholders.

Beneficiaries and eligibility conditions
The Norm regulates the granting of state aid to two categories of companies: medium-sized
companies that have a turnover of over 20 million RON in 2019 or large-sized companies. Thus, the
beneficiaries who carry out their activity on the Romanian territory from all sectors of activity, can access
investment loans or working capital loans, regulated by this norm.
According to the Norm, credits are granted to beneficiaries who, at the date of submission of the
financing file, cumulatively meet the following eligibility criteria:
a) are legal persons of private law, organized based on the Companies Law no. 31/1990, republished, with
subsequent additions and modifications;
b) fall into the category of SMEs and have a turnover of over 20 million RON in 2019 (according to the
annual financial statement of the company submitted to the financial administration) or falls into the
category of large enterprises;
c) were not in difficulty on December 31, 2019,
d) no decisions to recover State aid have been issued against them or, if so decisions were issued, they
were executed, according to the legal provisions in force;
e) is not in the procedure of forced execution, operational closure, dissolution, liquidation or special
administration and shall not be the subject of any request to the courts competent to open the procedure
of preventive settlement or insolvency, at their initiative or at the request of a third creditor;

f) does not register outstanding debts to the general consolidated state budget; in the event of the
existence of sums outstanding, can be accepted:
(i) that the beneficiary submits no later than the date of signing the credit agreement documents
from which to it appears that he has paid or settled those arrears,
(ii) payment of the outstanding amounts from the working capital loan granted under the Scheme;
g) does not appear with major incidents with checks and promissory notes in the last 12 months in the
CIP database; criteria it is considered fulfilled if the incidents occurred after the date of declaring the state
of emergency on the Romanian territory (16 March 2020) and were due to the difficulties caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, according to the beneficiary’s own responsibility;
h) presents the type A debt service starting with December 1, 2019 (credit installments are paid at
maturity or with a maximum delay of 15 days, inclusive); the criteria is considered to be met if the
outstanding amounts appeared after the date of declaration of the state of emergency on the Romanian
territory (March 16, 2020) and were due to the difficulties generated by the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to the beneficiary’s affidavit;
i) is not in dispute with EximBank;
j) is not in dispute with the Ministry of Public Finance (MFP), including the National Administration Agency
Fiscal Office.
The Norm also establishes the categories of activities that cannot benefit from this state aid, among
which we list by way of example: the gambling and betting industry; real estate transactions, production
or sale of weapons, ammunition, explosives, tobacco, alcohol products, substances under national
control, narcotic and psychotropic plants, substances and preparations.

Expenditure eligible for funding
The Norm specifies which categories of expenses are eligible for obtaining investment loans or for
obtaining working capital loans. Thus, by way of example, such expenditure may consist of: acquisition of
equipment and construction-assembly works related to them,
expenses related to commercial contracts / orders (for example: purchase of raw materials and / or
materials for supply, production.
For further details and information, please contact us at the email address: office@ltj.ro .