Bank shows interest in govt SME programme

By DALE LUMA
KINA Bank says it still has much interest to participate in the Government’s small to medium enterprises (SME) programme in which certain allocations will be parked in banks for soft lending to businesses in the country.
Responding to queries from The National following Cabinet’s decision to approve the first K200 million to Bank South Pacific (BSP) and the National Development Bank (NDB), the bank said it was still in discussion with the Government and had submitted a proposal.
“We are keenly interested in participating in the SME fund,” a bank spokesperson said.
“We remain in dialogue with Government and have submitted a proposal that goes beyond the traditional thinking of simply lending Government funds.”
The spokesperson said Kina Bank’s proposal also included discussion of different methods by which to boost SMEs through the fund and a minimum commitment of additional funds to be lent in the traditional manner, in addition to a government allocation.
“We believe our proposal has significant merit and look forward to continuing our dialogue with the Government on this important initiative.”
Prime Minister James Marape said in Parliament yesterday that the Government appreciated Kina Bank for putting its hand up to be a partner bank for the credit facility scheme.
“I place on record my appreciation for Kina Bank,” he said.
“Kina Bank has also stepped out to respond to us but the first trench will be given to the first two banks which have responded well.”
According to Commerce and Industry Minister William Duma, from the K200 million, K100 million would go to BSP, K80 million to NDB while K20 million would be kept with the department for the purpose of administering and monitoring of the funds.
The Government’s SME programme will run for a lifespan of 10 years and Marape appealed to future governments to maintain the programme and have budget allocation for the SME sector to allow them easy credit finance.