Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1322287
5 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 23 DECEMBER 2020 NEWS ǡǤ Ǥǡ ʹ͵ ǡͳͻͻͲȋͳͻͻͲȌǤ ǣ ͳȌ ʹȌǡ ͵Ȍ ͶȌ ͷȌ Ȍ ǣͳͻǡǦǡ ǡ ͳ͵Ͷͷǡ ǣͳͻǡǦ ǡ ǡ ͳ͵Ͷͷǡ ǣͻͲͻͶ MATTHEW VELLA AS at end October, there were 5,435 loans subject to a moratorium on repayments. The total value of loans subject to a moratorium in October edged down further when compared with September. These declined by around €370 million and stood at €1.4 billion, or 11.7% of to- tal outstanding loans to Maltese residents. In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent containment measures, a num- ber of businesses and households were faced with liquidity challenges, requesting banks for a moratorium on loan repayments. Loans subject to a moratorium declined for the second consecutive time since March 2020, which suggests that some businesses and house- holds have recommenced regular loan repay- ments, signalling a recovery in income flows. The largest declines were in household, man- ufacturing, real estate, wholesale and retail, and accommodation and food services activities sec- tors. The largest number of loans covered by mora- toria was held by households, with the sector ac- counting for around 68.7% of the total volume of loans subject to a moratorium. Maltese house- holds held €336.8 million, or 24.8%, of the total value of loans subject to a moratorium, equiva- lent to 5.4% of outstanding household loans. Meanwhile, the accommodation and food services activities sector held €248.7 million in loans subject to a moratorium. This was the sector most affected by the containment meas- ures and, indeed more than half – 51.6% – of the loans held by this sector were subject to a mora- torium by the end of October. This was followed by the real estate sector, which held €246.8 million in loans subject to a moratorium, or around 18.2% of such loans – equivalent to around a fourth of the sector's outstanding loans. Moreover, as at end October, the wholesale and retail trade sector held €132 million in loans subject to a moratorium, making up 9.7% of loans subject to a moratorium, or 20.3% of loans held by the sector. The manufacturing sector as well as the real estate sector experienced the strongest drops in the sector's share of loans subject to a morato- rium. In order to further alleviate liquidity challeng- es, the government launched the Malta Devel- opment Bank (MDB) COVID-19 Guarantee Scheme (CGS) for the purpose of guaranteeing new loans granted by commercial banks for working capital purposes to businesses facing liquidity shortfalls as a result of the pandemic. The scheme enables credit institutions to lev- erage government guarantees up to a total port- folio volume of €777.8 million. By end October, 478 facilities were approved under the CGS, covering total sanctioned lend- ing of €351.1 million. As the scheme provides loans for working capital, only €204.6 million were disbursed by the end of October, up from the €165.6 million disbursed by the end of Sep- tember. The wholesale and retail activities applied for the largest number of facilities and had the larg- est value of sanctioned loans at €85.6 million. This was followed by accommodation and food services activities, with 111 facilities making up a total of €70 million sanctioned loans, and the sector comprising transportation and ICT, which had a total of €49.5 million. Slight decline in COVID-19 loan moratoria Loans subject to a moratorium declined for the second consecutive time since March 2020, suggesting a recovery in income flow THE Nationalist Party has ac- cused Prime Minister Robert Abela of using the Innovation Hub estate in Xewkija, Gozo, for a partisan event held on Sunday 20 December. The PN said the European Un- ion co-funded estate for SMEs was used for a partisan event for the Labour Party where Robert Abela used the occasion for "partisan comments that served no end the Gozitan people." Gozitan MPs Chris Said, Joe Ellis and Kevin Cutajar said Ab- ela had failed to explain to the Gozitan people how the Xewk- ija Innovation Hub would be generated the jobs once prom- ised by Labour in 2013. "The hub was inaugurated with much pomp in 2019 and right up to this day, the build- ing is empty, as admitted by the government itself," the MPs said. "It should have been incum- bent upon Abela to talk about the government's strategy and initiatives to attract more direct investment to Gozo, particu- larly to the Innovation Hub so that it does lie disused. Noth- ing of this was mentioned, and instead more Gozitans have to find work on the Maltese main- land every day," Chris Said said. Said called on the industri- al lands regulator Indis Malta to explain how the Innovation Hub was used for a partisan event. "At the very least they must explain their position; and whether the Labour Party paid for this event to be held there, especially considering the high rent at the Innovcation Hub. Did they charge Labour the same rate?" Industrial park hosting Labour partisan event could be abusive, PN says