The most requested breaks are in the repayment of cash loans, due to which 64% of requests were submitted.
The deadline by which debtors, citizens and the economy, can apply for the so-called third moratorium is slowly running out. They have been able to submit applications since December 15, which means that this possibility has been in force for more than two and a half months.
In the case of this moratorium, the relief in repayment of obligations implies a grace period of six months and the last day to apply is April 30th. The National Bank (NBS) says that, according to the latest available data until January 31, 2021, the total number of debtors who accepted the sent notifications and submitted requests is around 37 thousand. Of that amount, by January 31, 2021, more than 65 percent of requests had been approved. Of the total number of debtors who accepted notifications and sent requests to the household sector, 87 percent, then the legal sector to five percent, while the rest are entrepreneurs and farmers. The largest number of accepted notifications and requests refers to cash loans 64 percent, followed by loans on transaction accounts, which is the allowed minus 10 percent, to other loans nine percent, and six percent to investment loans and loans for liquidity and working capital.
“The concrete measure, including its duration, has been carefully weighed from the aspect of potential difficulties that citizens and the economy may face in settling their obligations, as well as from the aspect of the need to preserve financial stability. The data on the number of requests from both citizens and debtors in the field of economy, speaks in favor of the fact that this measure is adequate support to prevent potential difficulties in settling obligations to banks, as well as mitigating the consequences of the pandemic,” they say in the NBS.
In order for a natural person to receive a period of rest in the repayment of obligations of six months, he must meet one of the stipulated conditions. Either that on December 15, 2020, he was in arrears for more than 30 days in a materially significant amount, which is more than 8 euros for any credit product, or that at the time of submitting the request, he had the status of an unemployed person. The debtor who earned an average income (salary or pension) in the last three months below the average salary can also receive relief. Also, if the level of credit indebtedness (monthly loan annuities, five percent overdraft limit and credit card limit) exceeds 40 percent of the average net monthly income in the last three months, while the average monthly income is lower by 10 percent or more than income before March 15, 2020, and in the last three months they do not exceed thousand euros.
Legal entities and entrepreneurs meet the conditions if on December 15, 2020, they were in arrears for more than 30 days in a materially significant amount, which is an amount greater than one percent of the bank’s claims or over 10,000 dinars for any credit product. Also, if in the period until the day of submitting the request, the debtor’s business income (turnover for flat-rate entrepreneurs) is lower by 15 percent and more in 2020, compared to the business income from the same period last year.
The grace period can also be obtained if there is a documented interruption of the debtor’s business for a continuous period of at least 30 days due to the Covid 19 pandemic. When the six-month moratorium expires, the new monthly obligation will not be able to be higher than the previous one but less than or equal to the existing obligation. During the six-month grace period, the principal is not charged, the bank charges the agreed interest, and the debtor can choose to pay interest during the grace period, or after it expires. In this second option, the interest calculated during the grace period will be attributed to the debt principal and a new loan repayment plan will be calculated on the increased principal, provided that the loan maturity is extended so that the annuity does not exceed the annuity before the relief is applied, Politika reports.
