Banks announce measures to help customers during coronavirus crisis

Malta’s leading banks have announced measures to help those affected by the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus epidemic.

Amongst the measures announced by BOV are flexible moratoria: a minimum of 3 months moratorium on both capital and interest to be applied for home loans and personal loans, tailored according to customer’s situation and needs;

The bank also introduced increases in overdraft and credit card limits to meet the short-term financial needs of customers, subject to eligibility criteria at no extra charge.

No fees will be charged on rescheduling of home loans and personal loans and late repayment fees on credit card repayments will also not be charged.

The bank will entertain term extensions on drawdowns and utilisation of loans free of any charges. These extensions will also apply to the facilities featuring fixed term rates.

Meanwhile, HSBC has introduced measures which are available immediately depending on the customer’s circumstances and eligibility criteria and include a three-month capital repayment moratorium on home loans and personal loans.

HSBC has created a specific microsite www.hsbc.com.mt/covid through which, customers are able to fill in a form requesting assistance, which will then be directed to the appropriate teams. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In the case of those who may face difficulty in meeting their repayment programme, Lombard Bank will grant a twelve-month moratorium on 80% of the monthly Home Loan repayment. No fees will be chargeable but conditions may apply.

The bank has appointed a COVID-19 Business Response Team with authority to engage directly and reply to its commercial and retail customers with its relief measures according to their specific circumstances.

APS is accepting requests for capital moratoria from business customers for minimum periods of 3 months reflecting the respective business cycle of the customer’s particular industry or segment. The bank is also considering requests for increases in overdraft limits, suspension of financial     covenants and other relief measures according to the nature of the request. In all these cases, rescheduling and processing fees are being waived.     

An order of priority has been established to ensure that the sectors most impacted will be addressed first but at the same time, the bank said all requests will be considered for as many of the relief measures as possible.

For retail customers, in the main part home loan customers facing notable reductions in income, the bank will receive applications for a moratorium on both capital and interest. The extent of the moratorium will be “generous,” the bank said and would be agreed with each customer according to the particular case. No processing fees will be charged, said the bank.