Principal loans: SBP extends repayment period
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to extend the deferment of principal amount facility till September 30, 2020. This facility will, however, be available for small and medium enterprise (SME) financing, consumer financing, housing finance, agricultural finance and micro-financing only, the central bank said in a statement. “The facility is not being extended to corporates and commercial borrowers since a significant amount of their loans and advances has already been deferred,” it said. “It is expected that more businesses and households, which were not able to avail the facility, will benefit from this extension.”
On March 26, 2020, the SBP in collaboration with the Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) announced measures to help businesses and households to manage their finances. Among these was the deferment of principal amount of loans and advances by banks and DFIs. Under this facility, the businesses and households could request for the deferment of their loans and advances for a period of one year, while continuing to pay the mark-up amount.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 8th, 2020.
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