– Ridiculous phrases – NRK Norway – Summary of news from different parts of the country

– All heat is off. Of course, we have to keep all electricity bills low. We had hung Christmas lights and stars in the hope that some guests would come, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like that, says restaurant owner Jarle Baer.

He owns Markveien Mat og Vinhus, who was to host the guests who would taste this year’s lutefisk.

Instead, the profitable months before Christmas are now lost due to crown measures, and the restaurant is completely quiet.

– Ridiculous

In January, the crown’s support comes from the state during the last months of this year. Baer would rather have the money now.

The government knows this, which will help what they call “viable businesses.” Therefore, in November the guaranteed loan scheme for companies was expanded.

Baer did what Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner urged, called the bank. But the bank gave a non-verbal, he says, even though the restaurant made a profit last year.

The problem was that equity was negative, he says. Baer, ​​who has run the restaurant since 1992, is now asking the government for clarification.

– What is a viable company? No one has received an adequate response to that. After six to eight months of pandemic, where it has lost business and runs a deficit. What are they waiting for? Asks Baer, ​​adding:

– I think it’s ridiculous that they come up with those phrases.

– It is practically not possible

Secretary of State Kari Olrud Moen from the Finance Ministry says Markveien Mat og Vinhus is a viable company, by the government’s definition, as the restaurant made a profit last year.

Moen also says that there can be discussions about what is a viable company in different contexts.

– We are very concerned that this is implemented in practice, at the same time that we must have respect for banks to do their job, Moen tells NRK.

Providing compensation support is already impossible under the system the government has chosen, according to Moen.

– It is not practically possible now, but what we have said is as quickly as possible, and the better the companies are prepared, the faster the case will be processed, he says.

So far this year, there have been fewer bankruptcies than normal, which Moen believes shows that the government has managed to help many businesses during the corona pandemic.

The companies have received, among other things, a deferred payment of taxes and fees of NOK 7 billion from the Tax Administration, according to the arrears figures that NRK received in early November.

Scheme that does not apply

Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner (H) told E24 before the weekend that not all companies will be able to get a loan from the bank.

Chief Information Officer Tom Staavi at Finans Norge, which is the leading organization in the finance industry, says that banks must take many considerations into account when submitting loan applications.

– Banks should evaluate each individual loan application according to ordinary credit practice, he says.

NRK has called several banks, which confirm that small business loans can be denied if the economy is bad now. This is despite the fact that the company made a profit last year and may receive compensation in January.

BNre’s director of retail, Endre Jo Reite, says the assessment is about the likelihood that loan installments will be paid on time.

He shrugged when the government introduced banks as “front-line aid” in November.

– The government refers companies in desperate need to a scheme that does not work. The loan guarantee scheme is a good help for larger companies with orderly finances, he says.

The government has guaranteed that banks will get 90 percent of the loan repaid if the company fails. Banks are most afraid of problems that arise long before the business ends up in probate court.

– The more the industry is affected, the fewer companies benefit from the existence of the scheme. This applies to travel agencies and restaurants, which have a demanding relationship with the bank because revenues fluctuate and the balance is not the strongest in the world, Reite says.

Fear of bankruptcy

A survey conducted by Virke among its member companies confirms that companies are struggling to obtain loans.

– So it is not that they are not viable, but that they have a business model that means that they do not qualify for bank loans, Virke’s director, Ivar Horneland Kristensen, tells NRK.

The survey also shows that 1 in 8 member companies fear bankruptcy if the crown’s measures continue.

Horneland Kristensen believes the figures mean the state cannot rely on the banks, but must get support from the compensation plan now rather than in January.

– Parts of the industry are doing well, such as construction and food. Here we speak especially of travel companies, training, stage technology, culture, and hotels and restaurants in particular. The liquidity situation is such that we are back in June, and it is the last few weeks that have changed this drastically, he says.