Germany has offered companies 'unlimited' loans to stop them from collapsing because of the coronavirus pandemic

apayne@businessinsider.com (Adam Payne)
·2 min read
Germany school coronavirus
Two boards advising parents to drop off and pick up their children outside the building are placed in front of the Brueder Grimm school in Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2020, after authorities updated on coronavirus COVID 19 measures in Germany.

REUTERS/Martin Schlicht

  • Germany offers "unlimited" loans to all German companies affected by the coronavirus in an effort to protect its economy from collapse.

  • Angela Merkel's government announced the radical measure on Friday.

  • The German Chancellor has warned that 70% of German people could contract the COVID-19 virus.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The German government is offering loans of unlimited size to all companies that want them in a radical step to keep the country's economy afloat amid the growing coronavirus crisis.

Germany announced the decision on Friday in a bid to ensure the COVID-19 virus doesn't result in businesses collapsing and jobs being lost.

"There is no upper limit on the amount of loans that [the state development bank] can issue," finance minister Olaf Scholz said, according to the Financial Times.

"We have said it should be unlimited."

Both small and large businesses will be offered loans along with the opportunity to defer billions of euros in tax.

Germany, like several other European countries, has taken a number of steps in an attempt to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Schools have been closed in a number of German states, while major sporting events are taking place behind closed doors.

In Berlin, the country's capital, the beginning of the summer semester has been postponed, with lecturers and students who have visited areas deemed high-risk to self-isolate for two weeks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned earlier this week that up to 70% of the country's population of around 58 million people could catch coronavirus.

"When the virus is out there, the population has no immunity and no therapy exists, then 60 to 70% of the population will be infected," Merkel said at a press conference on Wednesday.

"The process has to be focused on not overburdening the health system by slowing the virus's spread. It's about winning time."

As of Thursday, Six people in Germany had died after testing positive for the virus.

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