<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Banks will never join in SME relief
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN I first read about the proposed $2.7 billion relief package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), I was surprised how quickly it was approved.
Now, the truth sinks in: Banks are not willing to risk their share of 20 per cent of new loans to customers.
I have worked in two banks for 10 years, and I understand that loans are approved only when the inherent risk is acceptable. In times like these, the risk is not acceptable.
SMEs have to overcome this economic downturn without bank loans. Many SMEs will not make it. Their closure will aggravate the unemployment crisis and cast a gloom some may not have seen before.
I suggest the Government bear the full risk of the loan amount. Banks can help scrutinise applicants for a fee or some interest.
In this way, the relief package can really help and many SMEs will still be around when they are needed most after this crisis. Chio Chen Yeun
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->WHEN I first read about the proposed $2.7 billion relief package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), I was surprised how quickly it was approved.
Now, the truth sinks in: Banks are not willing to risk their share of 20 per cent of new loans to customers.
I have worked in two banks for 10 years, and I understand that loans are approved only when the inherent risk is acceptable. In times like these, the risk is not acceptable.
SMEs have to overcome this economic downturn without bank loans. Many SMEs will not make it. Their closure will aggravate the unemployment crisis and cast a gloom some may not have seen before.
I suggest the Government bear the full risk of the loan amount. Banks can help scrutinise applicants for a fee or some interest.
In this way, the relief package can really help and many SMEs will still be around when they are needed most after this crisis. Chio Chen Yeun