Written reply to PQs on loans under Temporary Bridging Loan programme

Questions

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry for each year between 2020 and 2022 (a) how many applications have been received by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) under the Temporary Bridging Loan programme; (b) how many applications have been successful; (c) what proportion of successful loans are taken out by borrowers from local financial institutions; (d) what is the median interest rate payable under the terms of the loan; and (e) what is the total quantum of exposure that ESG has under the risk share terms of the loans.

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry for each year from 2020 to date (a) how many borrowers have defaulted in the loans granted to them under the Temporary Bridging Loan programme; (b) what is the total amount claimed by financial institutions against Enterprise Singapore (ESG); and (c) how much has been paid out by ESG to financial institutions for defaulted loans.

Written Answer by Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Gan Kim Yong

1. From 2020 to 2022, the Government supported about $23 billion of loans under the Temporary Bridging Loan Programme (TBLP). TBLP was introduced to assist local companies that experienced cashflow difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Table 1 provides a yearly breakdown of the number of loans supported.

2. The median interest rate charged by Participating Financial Institutions (‘PFIs’) was 2.8%. All the PFIs are Singapore based. The risk-share provided by Enterprise Singapore to the PFIs was between 70% to 90%.

Table 1: Number of loans supported under TBLP

3. The default rate for TBLP has been less than 2%. To date, EnterpriseSG has paid about $100 million in claims to PFIs for loans that have been written off.