Brussels, 27/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 June, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to an extension of the Portuguese bank guarantee system, and the day before, it authorised the extension of a British scheme to provide loans to small business and two Danish bank support schemes, all until 31 December 2012.
The Portuguese system was initially authorised on 29 October 2008 and comprises a raft of bank bailout measures and guarantees (see EUROPE 9773), which has already been extended several times. The Commission says the latest extension complies with its state aid guidelines for struggling banks and the measures are well-targeted, proportionate and limited in time and scope.
The British National Loan Guarantee Scheme was authorised by the Commission on 14 March 2012 (see EUROPE 10575), but several changes have been made to it. The Commission says that the adjusted system will help small business deal with problems arising from the sovereign debt crisis, which have made it difficult for small business to get bank loans.
The Commission also gave the go-ahead to an extension of a Danish bank wind-up system initially authorised on 30 September 2010 (see EUROPE 10226) and the Danish guarantee system for bank mergers authorised on 17 February 2012. It says the two systems are an appropriate response to the continuing financing difficulties, particularly for small and medium-sized banks. (OL/transl.fl)