KUALA LUMPUR: Banks will be offering a six-month moratorium on the instalment of all credit facilities, excluding credit cards, to borrowers on an opt-in basis.
This was clarified by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) today.
The moratorium is part of the Pakej Perlindungan Rakyat dan Pemulihan Ekonomi (Pemulih) announced by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.
The moratorium is open to all individuals, including all B40, M40 and T20 borrowers, microenterprises and all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The automatic moratorium is applicable for loans or financing approved before July 1, 2021 and are not in arrears for more than 90 days on the date the request for the moratorium is submitted to the bank, the associations said.
They assured that all banks will process requests for moratorium "in the shortest time possible".
However, given the possible large volume of requests and the lockdown constraints on working protocols that all member banks are operating under, there may be some initial operational challenges, both associations said in a joint statement today.
Borrowers who wish to take up the moratorium will need to contact their banks from July 7.
ABM and AIBIM said borrowers can rest assured of the full commitment by member banks to ensure all issues would be addressed on a timely basis.
As announced by Bank Negara Malaysia, borrowers' Central Credit Reference Information System records will remain unaffected by opting in for this moratorium.
"As such, borrowers do not have to worry about the impact on their future credit profile. Any affected borrowers who have had their requests for moratorium rejected by the banks or are still facing difficulties after consultation with their banks."
Borrowers are reminded to be wary of scammers and only opt-in for this moratorium through official bank channels.
They are also advised not to deal with any third parties claiming to be agents/representatives of the banks on matters relating to this new moratorium.
ABM and AIBIM said their members did not appoint or engage third parties or agents for purposes of the moratorium.
ABM and AIBIM said banks would also offer credit card facilities to convert the outstanding balances into a three-year term loan/financing with reduced interest rates to help borrowers better manage their debt.