Since 2003, the government has begun issuing loan guarantees to help established and expanding SMEs across all sectors of the economy. Funding from private banks and institutional organs are partly guaranteed by the governmental Loan Guarantee Fund. Under this fund, the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance and the SMBA operate two coordination companies that assess the business plans for credit applications, conduct due diligence with SMEs and estimate the risk of the loans. According to recommendations from this risk estimation, the fund sets up a dialogue with the bank to determine the loan’s applicable interest rate, define specific loan conditions and approve the loan. The scheme is open to SMEs with annual turnovers of up to NIS 100 million.
There are several loans tracks that a business can inquire about. The general scheme provides a maximum of NIS 500,000 or 8% of the annual turnover, whichever is higher. For new businesses, they offer loans of up to NIS 500,000 that will be granted under favourable terms, with reduced collateral of only 5% for the loan up to NIS 300,000 and 15% for the rest. For exporters with an annual turnover of over USD 250,000, loans in this track will be granted in shekels or dollars maximum of NIS 500,000 or 12% of the sales turnover, whichever is higher. For industrial businesses, loan provision extends up to 15% of turnover or 90% of the required investment amount. The loan period is up to 12 years for industrial capital investments. A grace period of six months can be granted for principal payments. The interest rate is determined by the banks for each loan, taking into consideration the government guarantee and the risk of the loan. In addition, the business owner is required to provide his/her personal guarantee. The total loan portfolio is limited to the leveraging ratio agreed upon with each bank.
The program requires a ratio no lower than 70:30 of outstanding loans for small businesses to outstanding loans for medium businesses.
The SME fund is based on recommending loans with a guarantee to banks that lend money for small and medium-sized businesses by leveraging the amount that the state has provided as collateral, in case of insolvency, the banks activate the guarantee, and thus the government participates in some of the credit risks. As of March 2016, a new state-guaranteed small and medium-sized business fund was established, replacing the previous fund. Unlike in previous funds, this fund’s source of finance includes institutional funding (for example, from insurance companies and pension funds) in addition to bank funding, to expand available credit for businesses. In addition, various improvements have been introduced in favour of businesses, including an increase of the maximum credit limit for exporters and the opening of a designated loan option for industrial capital investments in which long-term 12-year loans can be issued, as already mentioned.
The Central Bank of Israel launched monetary plans for credit supply expansion, such as intervention in the bond market, lowering capital requirements in the banking system, creating an infrastructure for broadening the variety of assets that banks could put as securities for credit, postponements of loan payments and more.
The government has developed programs to improve employment among targeted populations, notably in the peripheries, by assisting SMEs in the hiring and training of new employees. Additional programs, also sponsored by the government, encourage SMEs to invest in new equipment to increase productivity, such as the "MaofTech" project, which promotes technological entrepreneurship in a national priority goal.