ComBank offers non-performing borrowers with post-COVID-19 concessions

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has announced a series of concessions for borrowers whose loans had already been classified as non- performing when the government’s measures against the spread of COVID- 19 began to impact on businesses.

These concessions are offered under the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s relief measures to support COVID- 19 hit borrowers. The scheme not only allows borrowers to reschedule their loans, but also offers an opportunity to get them re-classified as performing loans by on-time servicing of interest for six consecutive months, the bank said in a media release.

Borrowers who had been classified as non-performing as at March 25 are eligible to apply for these concessions, which include rescheduling of capital and interest, waivers of penalties on loan interest, waivers of a percentage of the interest already accrued at the point of final settlement rescheduling, a debt moratorium of up to six months and a suspension of the auctioning of the assets of such borrowers till end September 2020.

“In instances where litigation for recovery of a loan has begun, the borrower may participate in the concession scheme by submitting an affidavit to court undertaking to comply with the requirements set out in the scheme to qualify for its benefits. The bank said that the customers can apply for these facilities by writing to the managers of their respect ive branches or to the Relationship Officers,” the statement said.

Commercial Bank is one of the highest lenders to the SME sector in Sri Lanka and offers competitive interest rates and tailor- made repayment programmes to benefit the SME segment.