The last day of October ends the statutory moratorium, which allowed the postponement of loan repayments for up to half a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to estimates, non-banking and leasing companies have postponed almost one hundred thousand loans in billions of crowns. From November, however, all borrowers will have to start repaying again according to the original conditions. But not everyone will have it.
The Association of Non-Bank Lenders has announced that it wants to protect clients who have taken advantage of the statutory deferral of payments in the first wave of the pandemic and whose financial situation is still precarious. “We have consulted the rules with organizations such as People in Need or the Financial Distress Counseling Center, as well as with some deputies who deal with problems,” said Aleš Janků, the association’s director.
The new rules will apply from November. If the debtor requests, the creditor, ie the company that is a member of the association, will allow the one-off loans over five thousand crowns to be spread over the repayment of the amount owed over at least five months without increase. The condition is the payment of at least one-fifth of the amount owed.
“In the case of loans with regular installments, in justified cases, such as the loss of income of the borrower or member of the household, it will offer the distribution of regular installments over a longer period, again without increase. entrepreneurs, “said Janků.
According to David Borges of the People in Need Foundation, which regularly evaluates the offer of non-banking companies and sometimes warns of high interest rates, it is right that where state regulation ends, self-regulation by lenders begins.
“It is a step in the right direction. However, we will continue to monitor the actions of non-banking companies and the approach to debtors, and now we will look at the willingness to accommodate deferred payments,” Borges said.
“Most of them are people who probably did not succeed in applying for a loan at a bank, where the conditions are more favorable. For some reason, they were not creditworthy enough for the bank,” Borges explained.
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However, the Association of Non-Bank Lenders unites only four companies. The supportive offer is thus aimed “only” at approximately 5,000 clients of Zaplo Finance, Creamfinance Czech, CreditPortal and Fair Credit Czech. What about other companies that cut a significantly larger piece in the non-bank loan market?
The Czech Leasing and Finance Association, which covers most of the market and represents over 40 companies, stated that its members approved over 79,000 requests for deferral of payments for 31 billion crowns. When asked by Aktuálně.cz whether she was also preparing rules for the protection of debtors, she stated that she could not shape the business strategy of its members and referred to the statutes of the association.
“Since the very beginning of the coronavirus crisis, member companies have been customer-friendly. They processed half of deferral requests under the statutory credit moratorium. The other half repayment before its announcement, “says Jaroslav Krutilek, general secretary of the Czech Leasing and Finance Association.
According to him, the total number of deferred payments is only seven percent of all loans. “Therefore, we do not consider it necessary to take further general measures at this time. We have no doubt that even after the moratorium, our members will approach customers responsibly in order to relieve as much as possible those who have found themselves in a difficult situation due to the pandemic. however, they are fully in their competence, “added Krutílek.
One of the largest non-bank lending companies – Home Credit – does not expect a high proportion of clients in difficulty, even in the area of microloans, after the end of the statutory moratorium.
“We usually deal with cases of clients requesting deferral of payments in a difficult financial situation. Clients can also contact the ombudsman, who is trying to find a suitable solution. In this situation, we will not approach otherwise,” said company spokeswoman Linda Bilal.
Another member of the Czech Financial and Leasing Association, Essox, provided a loan deferral to 5,800 clients in the first half of the year. “After the repayment moratorium, we will approach the financial situation of clients individually. If they get into trouble with repayment, we are ready to look for the best solution. This may include both deferred payments and a modified repayment schedule,” says Jana Hanušová, CEO.
Provident does not intend to join the call of the Association of Non-Bank Credit Providers either. “We are acting responsibly in every situation. In the case of the spring wave of coronavirus, we reached out to customers a month before the introduction of the government moratorium and offered them the opportunity to take extra pay for three months free of charge, ie without interest and without negative entries in bank and non-bank client registers. information, “said company spokeswoman Kateřina Jarošová.
According to unofficial information from the market, the reason why large companies do not want to enter into a collective agreement may be that, unlike small lenders, they have significantly more money in circulation and excessive “helpfulness” to defaulters could be loss-making for them.
The government approved the possibility of postponing the repayment of loans and mortgages on April 1. Repayment of interest and principal is suspended until the end of October. Only in the case of corporate loans is the repayment of the principal suspended, the company’s interest continues to pay. If the client has used the deferral of repayment, the length of the loan repayment is adequately extended by the period during which the repayment was interrupted.
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