The credit line is intended for small and medium-sized companies to help them cover their employees' salaries for two months.
On Friday, the 27th, the federal government announced an emergency credit line to finance the payroll of small and medium-sized businesses, as a way to assist them during the public calamity caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The measure will last two months.
The announcement was made at the Planalto Palace by President Jair Bolsonaro and Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto. The program will provide a maximum of R$$ 40 billion, or R$$ 20 billion per month.
Also present at the speech were the president of Caixa Econômica Federal, Pedro Guimarães, and of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Gustavo Montezano.
The announcement comes after mounting pressure on Bolsonaro to adopt measures similar to those seen in other countries to ease the situation, such as the isolation recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to reduce the growth in the number of COVID-19 infections.
Beneficiaries
The financing line is expected to benefit approximately 1.4 million companies, reaching 12.2 million workers. The credit will be available to companies with annual revenue between R$1,400,000 and R$1,000,000 and will finance two months of their payroll.
According to Campos Neto, the measure will be implemented by the BNDES (National Development Bank). The financing limit is two minimum wages.
Assistance for self-employed workers
On Thursday (26), the Chamber of Deputies approved the emergency aid for self-employed, informal and non-fixed income workers during the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The measure will last three months, in the amount of R$ 600. The matter will be analyzed by the Senate and later sent to President Jair Bolsonaro for his opinion.
According to the latest update from the Ministry of Health, released this Thursday, the country has recorded 3,417 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 92 deaths from the disease. The fatality rate is 2.7%.