The Secretary General of the Association of Private Banks of Bolivia (Asoban), Nelson Villalobos, explained that extending the deadline that expired in December would represent “one more blow to the financial system.”
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The deferral applied in 2020 in the payment of loan installments represented that the bank did not receive at least $ 4,000 million in principal and interest. If the term is extended as required by a variety of sectors, “it would be another blow to the financial system,” warned the general secretary of the Association of Private Banks of Bolivia (Asoban), Nelson Villalobos.
“$ 4 billion is the effect of this deferral on deferred principal and interest. It is a significant sum, of course that is the flow that the financial system has stopped receiving, “he explained in an interview with the Uno network.
In April 2020, the law was approved that deferred the payment of installments of the loans contracted by borrowers to mitigate the economic effect of the declared quarantine in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. In August the deadline was extended to December 31.
The regulations restricted the benefit to credits equal to or less than one million Bolivians, however the government of Luis Arce raised that cap and made it universal. Now, different sectors such as drivers, who declared a national strike for Tuesday, are demanding a new extension of at least six months.
For Villalobos “it would be one more blow for the financial system” to meet the demand of sectors such as drivers, although the Arce government has already ruled out extending the term after the payment of loans must be reactivated since January.
At the end of the management period, bank arrears, that is, non-payment of credits, reached 1.6% of the universe. Villalobos hopes that the deferral has not affected the culture of loan payment compliance.
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