On Wednesday, in the world heritage city of Angra do Heroísmo, nine banks signed a protocol that will put into place two lines of credit, established by the Government of the Azores to support companies to respond to the difficulties resulting from the crisis in the international financial market.

The application and procedural rules of these lines of credit were published on Wednesday at the Jornal Oficial. The protocol is to be underwritten by the Vice-President at a ceremony in the Palácio dos Capitães Generais and will be presided by the head of the regional government, President Carlos César.

The line of credit “Açores Invest” (Azores Invest), of 40 million euros, is destined to reinforce the current accounts and permanent investment capital of companies whereas the line of credit “Apoio à Reestruturação da Dívida Bancária” (Debt Restructuring Support), with a credit threshold of 100 million euros, will enable the restructuring of debts, contributing to and supporting the reduction of debt-related financial costs, compensating them for the negative impact of increased interest rates on their cost structures.