A total of 9,414 companies in the province of Córdoba have received, according to the latest data updated on March 31, a loan from the Official Credit Institute (ICO). Son 353 companies more than the beneficiaries at the end of 2020, year one of the coronavirus, a pandemic that has made and continues to wreak havoc on the productive fabric, that it must resort to alternatives of this type, not just to start a project, but simply to be able to emerge afloat.
According to the figures of this public bank, the 9,414 companies (including the self-employed) had requested ICO credits for the value of almost 1,152 million euros, an amount that finally reached financing by this credit institution of almost 1,487 million.
Of all the ICO credits granted in Andalusia, companies in the province of Córdoba account for the 9.4% of the total, and the 10.3% of the money financed. By order, Malaga and Seville are the provinces with the most beneficiaries, 25,144 companies and 20,765, respectively. They are followed by Cádiz, with 13,160 companies and freelancers; Granada, with 11,345; then Córdoba would go, and finally Almería with 7,460; Jaén with 7,306, and Huelva with 5,862.
Making an average between the financed money and the beneficiary companies, in Córdoba these loans amounted to about 158,000 euros, a figure somewhat higher than the Andalusian average, of about 144,000 euros. By provinces, that average was 155,600 euros in Almería, 120.00 in Cádiz, 125,000 in Granada, 151,600 in Huelva, 116,000 in Jaén, 136,200 in Malaga and 168.00 in Seville.
Although the more detailed data do not appear provincialized in the statistics, an extrapolation can be made to Córdoba. And, according to the ICO, in Spain, the 74% of companies with formalized operations are directly managed by freelancers and micro-SMEs. This type of company, with less than ten employees, has requested 70% of the total operations.
The most affected
Also at the national level, sectors to which they belonged Most of the beneficiary companies were, in the first place, the tourism, leisure and culture, without a doubt, one of the hardest hit by the economic crisis derived from the health pandemic. In this ranking appear, in order, the construction and infrastructure; business, professional and administrative services; consumer goods and retail; commercial distribution of food and beverages, and capital and industrial goods. Further down, as companies applying for ICO credits, there are also those related to agriculture, livestock and fishing, transportation and logistics, or automotive and transportation equipment.
In Córdoba capital, many of the companies that have had to go to the ICOs to be able to continue with their businesses or give them a push in some of their facets (technology, for example), belong in much to the service sector, such as hospitality, commerce or hotels. Most have requested the credit within the line of guarantees that the ICO has launched to alleviate the economic effects of the coronavirus.
“We were already coming from a crisis”
Rafael Ballesteros It is commercial and in Córdoba it has two stores (Check), one on Avenida de Almogávares and another on La Viñuela. He is one of the beneficiaries of these credits, although he regrets that he has received a third of what he asked for at the time. You will use the money for the digitization of your company, since you want to start marketing your products online. Remember that the sector has suffered a lot because «we were already coming from a previous crisis and although it has not considered closing any of its stores, it has had to apply temporary employment regulation files, the now famous ERTE.
About the ICO petition process, sí acknowledges that it has been complicated and requires extensive documentation. Will now have five years to return it, with 3.5% interest and a term, he estimates, of about five years. Even so, these conditions change depending on the amount and type of company that requests these loans.
“The first time I ask”
Ramon Villegas have of business with his wife and they both belong to sectors that have been severely affected by this crisis: a clothing store and tourist apartments (Something different). It is the first time that this businessman has applied for these loans because “he had not needed them before.” You have been awarded two, one for the store and one for the tourist business. Although he understands that it is necessary to request these loans, he does consider that they have a dark side, especially for the self-employed, to whom 3.5% interest is applied. «If the Government guarantees you for an ICO loan, the risk is zero, so the interest should be zero», Considers Villegas, who understands that the banks are winning.
In your case, there is no specific project to allocate the loan money, other than for «mitigate losses». Since during these months his billing has been practically none, to move forward he needs this help. “We continue to operate at a loss,” he acknowledges, adding that the ICO “it has saved us a little».
Remember that last year the outbreak of the coronavirus caught them with the warehouses full of material to start the high season, «The good season is gone». Now they keep the store closed during the week and open on weekends because it is when there is more movement, given that they are located in the historic center, a scarce (or very scarce) area of activity. As for the apartments, they are still open, but reservations do not come in droves either because “I am not going to put it at 35 euros a night”, understanding that with that money it does not cover expenses and nor does it protect the quality that, understands, your business has.
To stay “afloat”
Sergio Good is the owner of the hotel Los Patios And, like those who precede you on these pages, you have also applied for an ICO loan for the first time. The money will serve, he says, to “keep us afloat.” She speaks in the plural because her sisters have also requested it and, in this case, they run souvenir shops. The covid has paralyzed the reserves, but not the expenses. Bueno relates that he has workers, that you have to continue paying rent and bills. They have been closed since November waiting for some activity to return.
To “have a mattress”
Another of the sectors that has been most affected by the coronavirus crisis is the hospitality industry. Miguel Angel Morales has a restaurant, Los Chopos, in María la Judía, and she also asked for this loan for the first time in order to “have a mattress.”
In your case, they did grant what you asked for, understand that the interests are “not high” And yet he points out that banks “will always do business.” You now have a maximum of five years to return the credit that will serve you to have that tranquility mattress at a time when restrictions on hospitality are wreaking havoc in the sector.
“Relief for businesses”
From the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Córdoba (CZECH) explain that both these credits and other measures (including ERTE) have meant a “certain relief for companies” that, consulted by the organization, affirm mostly that the crisis has affected them and in up to half of the cases they doubt their survival.
Sources from the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Córdoba point out that ICOs constitute a mechanism that has worked «reasonably well», But they understand that the problem is that they are designed for a temporary crisis. 47% of the companies that are part of CECO have requested an ICO or are thinking of doing so, 8.3% of those that have requested it have not succeeded, while 14% have received less than they had originally requested.
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