Santander Bank Polska wants SMEs to be able to apply for the subsidies via its electronic business banking services


The Polish Development Fund’s Financial Shield 2.0 intended to support industries affected by the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will be available soon. The application process will start in January 2021 provided that the program is approved by the European Commission.

According to the Polish Development Fund’s report, the Financial Shield’s (2.0) total value is PLN 35bn, of which PLN 10bn will be allocated to micro-enterprises and SMEs. The funds will be channelled through banks participating in the programme to businesses from 40 sectors which had to limit or suspend operations because of the pandemic.  The subsidies will be granted provided that a business recorded a decline in turnover and that it will continue its operations and maintain the employment level.  

Almost 53,000 business and corporate customers received subsidies through Santander Bank Polska S.A. We channelled more than PLN 9.5bn worth of funds to customers as part of the Polish Development Fund’s Financial Shield 1.0. The applications primarily came from the retail, wholesale, industrial processing and construction sectors.  We want to provide assistance to customers also as part of the Polish Development Fund’s Financial Shield 2.0. The Polish Development Fund’s support will be addressed to industries which had to suspend or significantly limit their operations, e.g. hotels, restaurants and event agencies, said Adrian Kaczmarek, SME Segment Manager at Santander Bank Polska.

Our bank will provide customers with all the required information via santander.pl. Details will be also presented at the Polish Development Fund’s website.

It should be noted that on behalf of the Polish Development Fund, the banks will request business owners who were provided with funds as part of the Financial Shield 1.0 to present documents showing evidence of their authorization to sign the subsidy agreements. If the applicants do not meet this formal requirement by 31 December 2020, they will have to return the entire subsidy.