No loan payment moratorium during lockdown

Borrowers may request banks for consideration in delaying loan repayments even without a compulsory moratorium during the ongoing lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic, according to the central bank.

In a statement, the financial regulator said bank clients “may continue to approach their banks for financial relief even if the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will not issue a mandatory moratorium or grace period for loans during the enhanced community quarantine from Aug. 6 to Aug. 20.”

The BSP has urged supervised financial institutions to renew, restructure, or extend the terms of the loans of their clients in consideration of their cash flows.

“Banks and their clients may agree on loan terms that fit the bank’s financial capability and the client’s financing requirements,” it said.

The BSP has earlier granted prudential relief measures to supervised financial institutions to allow them to continuously provide financial services and support households and businesses amid the pandemic.

“The BSP continues to monitor the impact of the health crisis on the financial industry and the economy to promptly address any emerging risks and to support sustainable economic recovery,” the central bank said.

The current more flexible approach follows last year’s rules, which imposed on BSP-supervised financial institutions a mandatory and nonextendible 60-day grace period on loan payments under the “Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.”

That previous 60-day loan payment moratorium was meant to provide relief to consumers and businesses to rebuild their way out of the crisis.