KUALA LUMPUR: Citi Malaysia is engaging with customers to assess the severity of impact from the Covid-19 pandemic and offering financial relief measures that are relevant to specific customer circumstances in line with the Bank Negara Malaysia moratorium announcement recently.
Citi Malaysia chief executive officer Lee Lung Nien said the bank is offering flexibility and empowering our customers to help them tide over financial difficulties they might have during this period.
"This is our first wave of relief and we are actively assessing the situation and listening to our customers. Our commitment to all our stakeholders and to the country is one of support and delivery of our best capabilities especially in these difficult times," he said in a statement today.
Individual and commercial banking SME customers will have an automatic moratorium on loan/financing repayments and payments excluding credit card balances for a period of 6 months beginning 1 April 2020.
Citi Malaysia will not compound interest for mortgage and personal loans. For Islamic home financing, profit accrued on the outstanding principal amount will not be compounded in line with Shariah principles.
The automatic moratorium is applicable to loans or financing that are not in arrears for more than 90 days as at 1 April 2020 and denominated in ringgit.
Customers should approach Citi Malaysia to discuss their repayment affordability after the moratorium period and customers can also opt out of the moratorium should they wish to and continue with their current repayment or payment terms.
Credit card customers with outstanding card balances can apply to convert their balances into a 3-year term loan at an effective interest rate of up to 13 per cent per annum from 1 April to 31 December 2020.
Card customers who are unable to meet the minimum monthly repayments for the last 3 months will have their credit card balances automatically converted into term loans once from 1 April to 31 December 2020.
Citi commercial banking small and medium enterprise (SME) customers will continue to have non-compounded interest on their term loans and trade bills during the moratorium.
For other corporates affected by Covid-19, Citi Malaysia will review any moratorium request on a case-by-case basis.
"We are here to help bridge financial needs in this extremely challenging environment and provide our customers with the right financial solutions in line with our mission of enabling growth and progress. It is about sustainability and resilience,” he said.
Source : https://new.nst.com.my/business/2020/03/579554/citi-malaysia-offers-automatic-moratorium-waives-compounded-interest