Image credit: The Malaysian Reserve
PETALING JAYA: As the automatic loan moratorium period ends, individuals and businesses facing problems in making repayment this month can still come forward and seek help.
Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) SME committee chairman Koong Lin Loong said banks would still assist affected borrowers and businesses to reschedule and restructure their loans even after the end of the moratorium.
Koong said many people and small-medium enterprises (SME) were still unaware that seeking assistance, restructuring or rescheduling their loans would not get them blacklisted or affect their central credit reference information system (CCRIS) record.
“There are more than 400,000 business accounts which have benefited from the automatic moratorium and 42.8% of them responded that they cannot survive for more than three months without an extension.
“However, only 20% of those facing problems have approached the banks so far, ” he added.
During a recent media roundtable with selected bank CEOs and the national Credit Counselling and Debt Management Agency, banks said they had contacted more than two million borrowers to offer them loan repayment assistance as of Sept 11.
Of this number, 1.4 million responded and more than 380,000 said that they needed assistance.
Banks have also been assuring borrowers that they remain committed to providing repayment flexibility.
Maybank CEO of Community Financial Services Datuk John Chong said that to date the bank had processed more than 90% of the applications for repayment assistance that generally involved hire purchase loans, mortgage and business loans.
“We urged those who need support for their loans or financing repayment post-moratorium to meet our financial advisers for free advice or to apply for the repayment assistance packages.
“The packages are targeted to help our customers who are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and will be customised to help them deal with their challenges, be it the loss of job or reduction in income. Our advice to our customers who need help is to approach us as soon as possible.
“Customers should start applying early so that the repayment arrangements can be approved and implemented before the moratorium ends, and they can have peace of mind to focus on other aspects of their lives and business, ” he said.
A CIMB Bank spokesman said the bank had also been contacting its customers and informing them that any financial assistance taken would not impact their CCRIS record.
“Since early August, CIMB has engaged 330,000 individuals and 10,000 SMEs. We provided them with simple instructions on submitting their applications, ” he said, adding that close to RM5bil worth of targeted assistance programme (TAP) and other payment assistance had been offered to over 25,000 individual customers.
An Alliance Bank Malaysia spokesman said that as of Sept 22, the bank had approved loan modifications for retail and business customers for loans amounting to RM1.3bil and RM1bil respectively, comprising personal loan, mortgage, as well as business lending products.
“We know that individuals and business owners are struggling to sustain their cash flow due to the pandemic. Borrowers who need the payment relief packages can request for a confidential discussion of their financing needs, ” he added.
In a statement, BNM said that together with the banking industry, they had conducted more than 150 engagement sessions with borrowers.
For applications that are still being processed, BNM said it would closely monitor banks’ practices and commitment to inform borrowers of the application results as soon as possible.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/10/01/loan-restructuring-is-possible