Banks in Serbia have published a notice on their websites about the termination of the moratorium on the payment of obligations as of June 30, ie from July 1.
For debtors, this means that the period of delay in repayment is over, and that they return to regular settlement of their credit obligations.
However, news is coming from neighboring countries, Croatia and Montenegro, that banks are extending the repayment delay, from three to six months, with clients they estimate will fall into arrears.
That stimulated the hopes of debtors in Serbia that it will be similar in our country.
“I do not expect the NBS to recommend an extension of the moratorium to banks, of course, unless the situation with the coronavirus worsens,” Hasan Hanic, a professor at the Belgrade Banking Academy, told B92.net.
According to him, banks in Croatia are forced to take that step because the country has been hit much harder by the crisis caused by the coronavirus due to the collapse of tourism, so they have many more debtors who cannot service their obligations.
“For now, there is no reason to introduce additional measures, the NBS is monitoring the impact of the crisis on economic developments in the country,” says Hanic. He points out that banks will assess in individual cases whether the client’s delay will be extended, depending on how much he is affected by the crisis.
The National Bank of Serbia reminds that the moratorium introduced by the NBS regulation implies a delay in repayment of obligations for 90 days, which usually includes three monthly installments of debtors, but also that banks have the opportunity to offer the client a longer delay.
“In accordance with the Decision on Interim Measures for Preserving the Stability of the Financial System, banks had a regulatory option to offer the client, in addition to the moratorium as mandatory reliefs, other reliefs related to repayment of obligations, such as longer downtime,” the NBS said.
“Given that the economic situation in the country is on the road to recovery, we do not expect a general extension of the moratorium, but that does not mean that the economy and citizens will be left without the support of banks,” the Association of Serbian Banks told us.
As they say, it is in the interest of banks for clients to preserve their business and to increase the collectibility of their receivables as a precondition for banks to fulfill their obligations to depositors – citizens and companies. In this sense, banks consider different scenarios for the development of the situation for their clients and, depending on their business policies, prepare a set of additional relief measures for a certain number of the most vulnerable clients.
“For a certain number of clients, it will be possible to extend the moratorium, extend the repayment deadlines and other benefits that will be adjusted to the specific client,” they say from UBS.
So, everything will depend on the agreement between the bank and the client, and UBS recommends that citizens and companies contact their bank and find out about the options available to them.
They remind that the introduction of a mandatory moratorium on the payment of loan obligations is one of the most important measures that was applied after the outbreak of the crisis, which helped a large number of citizens to overcome the crisis situation more easily. This measure was widely accepted by the economy and citizens, and banks provided about two billion euros for these needs, B92 reports.
