COVID-19 Government Financing Support Programmes for Businesses 2021

Based on responses to two surveys from selected OECD countries, this report offers an update to an earlier review first published in 2020 (OECD, 2020). It covers various forms of government financing support programmes for businesses, and explores how they have been applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, to understand where government intervention has been beneficial and where challenges have arisen, to possibly provide a clear overview of how the crisis was managed. The report also outlines the particular challenges for certain businesses, such as non-investment grade corporates and SMEs amid scarce financing, where government programmes have restricted or hindered access. It then presents conceptual considerations on how best to facilitate sufficient financing to ensure that viable businesses continue to remain solvent.