President of BNDES says that financing will be released in April to help airlines affected by the pandemic.
It was stated this Sunday, (29), by the president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), that the availability of financing to assist airlines should be released in April.
The financing according to Montezano will be exclusive to the companies' Brazilian operations and will not have subsidies.
Drop in demand
Airlines have been feeling the effects of the drop in demand for domestic and international flights. Due to the coronavirus crisis, this has also been a concern for the government. The record drops have been 70% in the domestic market and more than 90% in the international market.
“We are in intense discussions and our goal is to make the line available in April, so that it is in the companies’ cash registers in April,” said Montezano during a press conference broadcast online.
According to him, the financing rate should be “low”, but without subsidies: “The goal is to provide a competitive rate, a low rate that does not put pressure on the cash flow of these companies, but without the presence of subsidies. The idea is that the Treasury, the BNDES, and the public sector receive some remuneration from the operation that pays their bills. We will not carry out subsidized operations”, said the president of the Bank.
About the financing line
Montezano also emphasized that the financing line will be available to all companies. Furthermore, the resources cannot be used to finance other types of financing, only for the operations of the companies.
“The other creditors, like BNDES, will have to make an effort to extend and refinance so that companies can get through this temporary period of reduced demand,” he said.
According to Montezano, the financing will be done through a reversible debenture. Under this system, the money is made available to the companies at a low interest rate. If the airline's shares increase in value above a certain point in the future, the BNDES will receive an additional remuneration.
On March 18, the government announced some measures to support companies, including an extension of the deadline for refunding the amount paid for airline tickets that were canceled.