– Hurtigruten must be clearly notified – E24

On Friday, Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner (H) announced that he is lowering the threshold for companies to borrow from the Government Bond Fund.

Hurtigruten recently complained that they had been given “the door in the gutter” when they wanted bond loans from the newly created Government Bond Fund. The fund is managed by Folketrygdfondet and is capped at NOK 50 billion.

Hurtigruten’s credit rating was downgraded to CCC + after the crown crisis, and was too low. The Government Bond Fund can only make loans to companies with a B- credit rating. On Friday, Sanner reduced this requirement to just CCC +.

– Acknowledge that they are not safe

However, Hurtigruten is still unsure whether this change in mandate will allow them to borrow from the Government Bond Fund.

– This is apparently a positive sign. But whether the control has any real effect remains to be seen, communications manager Rune Thomas Ege of Hurtigruten said Friday.

– I understand that Hurtigruten is still uncertain. Still, they have not received a clear signal that they will receive help from the Government Bond Fund, parliamentary representative Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) tells E24.

– Hurtigruten needs clarification so they can implement plans for the summer. They must have the confidence to sell tickets and promote themselves based on their offers. The Hurtigruten must be clearly informed, he says.

Will eliminate the return requirement

Gjelsvik was the mayor when the Storting dealt with the restoration of the Government Bond Fund, a tool that was also used during the financial crisis.

The representative of the Party Center says that the Ministry of Finance has established requirements in the Fund’s mandate that make it difficult to prioritize the companies that struggle the most, even if that was precisely the intention of the Storting.

– It is very good that Sanner takes over, but what is politically important is that it is clearly communicated that one should help Hurtigruten. What causes a lot of uncertainty is the purpose of the fund’s management in the regulations, that the fund must guarantee the highest possible return and, at the same time, add liquidity in the bond market, says Gjelsvik.

– this is something The Ministry of Finance has added and not something that was mentioned in political treatment of this case This text needs to be removed in order for the Government Bond Fund to provide capital in a critical situation, he adds.

With the support of Ap and the Sailors Association

Gjelsvik is supported by Storting representative Ingrid Heggø (Ap).

– The required rate of return on bond loans must change. These should be loans to help viable companies overcome the crisis, not to get the best return possible, Heggø writes in a message to E24.

The Norwegian Seamen’s Association is also concerned that the retention of Sanner will not guarantee Hurtigruten’s loan from the bond fund.

– As long as the highest possible return allocation is fixed, unfortunately we are almost as far away, says Stian Grøthe, director of policy and public relations for the Norwegian Seamen’s Association at E24.

– Sanner has expressed his desire for a solution, and should be commended for it. Now all that remains is to erase all the details as quickly as possible so that the seafarers and the Hurtigruten return to the sea. This is urgent, says Grøthe.

– Not a state aid measure

Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner does not want to cut demand on the fund to get the best return possible.

– The Government Bond Fund is not a state aid measure and must not be adapted to affect individual companies. We have implemented other schemes that are intended to do more to help businesses in crisis, says Sanner.

– The condition that the bond fund does not include state aid is derived from the law, which a general Storting has agreed. The return requirement supports even that assumption, he adds.

The Government Bond Fund’s most important task is to help more market players participate in the bond market, Sanner says. The goal is for the market to become more liquid and function better as a source of financing for large Norwegian companies, he says.

Folketrygdfondet believes that the bond fund has performed as intended and has contributed to further optimism in the market.

– The supply of capital in the bond market is now good for most companies, except for those with low credit ratings, Sanner says.

You want higher risk

Gjelsvik notes that the government originally proposed that a significant proportion of the bonds the fund invested in should be in companies that temporarily have a lower credit rating, although this would increase the risk of loss to the fund.

– This is the whole purpose of the scheme. When the government sets other requirements in the mandate, it limits what the Government Bond Fund can do, says Gjelsvik.

– It is important for Sanner to take this step completely and tell Folketrygdfondet that not only is the goal to get the best return possible, but to help companies overcome the crisis we are in, he adds.

Gjelsvik says it should have been within the mandate of the Government Bond Fund to offer loans to both Hurtigruten and several other companies. There is now an urgent need to ensure that companies like Hurtigruten get clarification, Gjelsvik believes.

“There are 1,300 sailors and large wave effects along the coast, not just for Hurtigruten but for all subcontractors and those who use Hurtigruten for transportation,” he says.