(Adds quote, byline) TAIPEI, May 27 (Reuters) - Taiwan is considering boosting a loan facility to help small and medium sized firms hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and may extend it to individuals, with almost $20 billion available, sources briefed on the matter told Reuters. The central bank last year made T$300 billion ($10.80 billion) available to help SMEs cope with the impact of the coronavirus, which is now surging in parts of Taiwan after months of being well under control. The central bank typically provides the money to commercial banks at a low interest rate which they can disperse to companies which apply for support. Taiwan’s state-owned banks have prepared around T$550 billion ($19.79 billion) for the next round of loan help “to assist through this difficult time”, one source said. A Finance Ministry official told Reuters that figure was accurate. The central bank declined to comment. (Reporting by Liang-sa Loh; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Himani Sarkar)