Amid COVID-19 lockdown, PH banks offer grace period for loans

Close up of a man hand paying on line with credit card and a laptop on a desktop at home

Top Philippine banks have offered grace period for consumer and small and medium enterprise (SME) loan clients, giving them leeway during the month-long lockdown of Luzon amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The country’s largest lender BDO Unibank offered the longest grace period of 60 days, covering credit card, auto, home, SME and personal loan customers with due dates of up to April 15, 2020.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine Savings Bank, Security Bank, East West Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., China Bank and United Coconut Planters Bank are among those that offered loan payment extension of up to 30 days for all qualified consumer loans.

Philippine National Bank announced a 30-day payment extension for credit cards with due dates from March 18 to April 15.

Security Bank said the loan payment relief would cover credit cards, home loans, personal loans, auto loans, business mortgage loans and business express loans with no past due balance as of March 16. Those will payment due date between March 16 and April 14 will have 30 days in payment extension.

The bank added that its priority was the protection, security and welfare of its employees and clients.

BPI, for its part, offered the same 30-day payment extension to self-employed micro entrepreneurs “to help ease the burden during these trying times.”

Metrobank said it was extending assistance to customers “as we believe that health and safety should now be the primary focus of everyone.”