Publication

Coronavirus: Liquidity aid for companies

At the press conference on Friday, 20 March 2020, the Swiss Federal Council announced a package of additional measures to mitigate the economic impact of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Parliament’s Finance Delegation is expected to communicate on this topic at the beginning of this week.

Overview of measures

In order to prevent otherwise solvent firms from finding themselves in difficulty, a package of additional measures has been adopted:

Immediate aid in the form of specific bridging loans;
Deferral of the payment of social insurance contributions;
Liquidity reserve in the tax area and for suppliers of the Swiss Confederation;
Suspension of debt collection and bankruptcy proceedings.

Bridging loans

The Confederation will set up a guarantee programme with a volume of CHF 20 billion for affected SMEs obtaining transitional bank credits. The companies concerned should be able to access credits of up to 10% of their turnover or up to CHF 20 million quickly and simply.

Amounts of up to CHF 500,000 will be paid out immediately by the banks and will be covered in full by the federal guarantee;
Amounts between CHF 500,000 and CHF 20 million will be covered up to 85% by the federal guarantee and will have to be subject to a brief review by the banks.

The terms and conditions for submitting applications should be the subject of an ordinance of necessity which should be adopted and published in the middle of this week.

Deferral of the payment of social insurance contributions

Companies will be able to temporarily defer (interest-free) the payment of social insurance contributions (AHV, IV, EO, IV, UI). It will also be possible to adjust the usual amount of advance payments for these insurances in the event of a significant reduction in the wage bill.

Liquidity reserve in the tax area and suppliers of the Federal Confederation

Companies will be able to postpone payment deadlines without interest on arrears. The interest rate will be lowered to 0% (VAT, certain customs duties, special consumption taxes and incentive taxes) between 21 March and 31 December 2020. No interest on arrears will be charged during this period.