Newport council borrowed £15 million in March to help fund coronavirus pandemic costs.
A cabinet report reveals Newport City Council borrowed £15 million at the end of March to fund grants to businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The repayment for the short-term loan was made in June.
The council say the loan was necessary because funding from the Welsh Government, who provided the grant, did not come in immediately.
The cabinet report says that in the future temporary borrowing will continue to be required to fund day-to-day cash flow.
Council leader Jane Mudd, said: “I want to emphasise the importance of that (borrowing) in helping many of our businesses stay afloat.
“It did make the difference between whether they were forced to close or their survival.
“I would like to commend the finance team for their prudent management.”
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The cabinet member for assets, Cllr Abdul-Majid Rahman, said: “We suffered really badly in Maindee.
“A lot of the businesses in Maindee are small family businesses and they were greatly affected by the lockdown.
“The quick action that this authority took to get money out there as fast as possible paid dividends and helped a lot of families in Maindee.”
