Covid-19: DBS doubles SME digital business loan quantum to S$200,000

DBS Bank has again doubled the quantum of its digital business loan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to S$200,000, to give firms access to more substantial working capital to weather the Covid-19 economic fall-out.

Last Friday, the lender had already doubled the quantum to S$100,000.

The digital business loan, which was launched on Feb 26, will continue to be collateral-free. SMEs will only need to service interest for the first 12 months, up from the original three-month interest servicing period.

DBS will also continue to waive all processing fees, usually pegged at 1 per cent of the quantum for this loan, the bank said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the bank's other relief measures for SMEs are still available to help them tide over the coronavirus pandemic.

These include a six-month principal repayment moratorium for existing SME property loans, and an extension of import facilities of up to 60 days to act as immediate cash flow support.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

SGSME

Get updates on Singapore's SME community, along with profiles, news and tips.

Sign Up

On Tuesday, DBS said it is onboarding more than 70 food and beverage (F&B) businesses for its DBS F&B Digital Relief Package. This new set of digital services was launched two weeks ago to help F&B establishments tap new income streams by building their online presence in three days.

The bank aims to introduce more of such targeted relief packages in the coming weeks to support different SME segments, said Joyce Tee, group head of SME banking at DBS.

In addition, DBS has started advising SME customers that are keen on tapping the relief measures announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore on March 31. For instance, SMEs banking with DBS can choose to defer principal payments on all secured term loans up to Dec 31, 2020, subject to eligibility.

SMEs will also be able to extend the tenure of their loans by up to the corresponding principal deferment period. This relief will be available to SMEs that are not more than 90 days past due as at April 6, 2020.

Shares of DBS were up S$0.50 or 2.7 per cent to S$18.90 as at 3.05pm on Tuesday.