The list of goods for preferential consumer lending in Belarus has been expanded

February 8, Minsk /BELTA/. The Belarusian government has expanded the list of goods for which citizens are provided with preferential loans. This decision is contained in the Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 135 of February 3, 2011 "On Amendments and Additions to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of August 1, 2009 No. 1010," the press service of the Belarusian government informed BELTA. The resolution was adopted in accordance with the Decree of the President of Belarus of January 6, 2011 No. 11 "On Amendments and Additions to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of July 6, 2009 No. 371." The list has been supplemented with such commodity items as "round timber," "parquet," "thermal insulation materials" (55 items in total). Prior to this, the list of goods for which citizens are provided with preferential loans, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of August 1, 2009 No. 1010, included 52 items. The list of manufacturing organizations for furniture, door and window units, reinforced concrete and concrete products, lumber, and other goods has also been supplemented. Changes have been made to the names of manufacturing organizations due to the transformation of certain republican unitary enterprises into joint-stock companies. In addition, in accordance with Decree No. 11, the government and the National Bank adopted Resolution No. 134/3, which introduced amendments and additions to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers and the National Bank of August 7, 2009 No. 1044/13. Thus, the Council of Ministers ensured that legislative acts are brought into line with the decree. As a reminder, Resolution No. 1044/13 approved the regulation on the procedure for providing preferential loans for consumer needs to low-income citizens. These changes are designed to stimulate the production of domestic products, create jobs, ensure fuller utilization of existing production capacities, and develop entrepreneurship, including in small and medium-sized urban settlements. In total, in 2009, banks issued preferential consumer loans totaling Br15.3 billion, and in 2010 - Br77.3 billion. As of January 21, 2011, commercial banks had concluded 18,017 agreements for opening credit lines for preferential consumer lending totaling Br94.2 billion, with loans issued for Br93 billion. The positive growth dynamics of issued loans indicate an increased public interest in preferential lending, which contributes to increased sales of domestic goods and growth in trade turnover. As a reminder, preferential consumer loans in Belarus are provided by Belarusbank, Belagroprombank, Belinvestbank, and BPS-bank. To consider the issue of issuing a preferential consumer loan, a citizen presents a written application to the bank, copies of their identity document with the original presented, a certificate of residence and family composition, and information on the aggregate income of the applicant and their family members for the three months preceding the month of application. Within 10 working days from the date of registration of the application, the bank makes a decision to issue a preferential consumer loan or refuse to issue it. In case of a positive decision, the bank concludes a loan agreement with the citizen, which specifies the loan procedure, the amount of the preferential consumer loan, and the methods of securing obligations under it. The amount of the preferential consumer loan issued shall not exceed 300 basic units established as of the date of conclusion of the loan agreement. Based on the concluded loan agreement, the bank opens a credit line for the citizen. -0-