Central Bank says flood-hit borrowers not receiving announced concessions

Flood-affected borrowers are not aware of credit concessions they are entitled to, and have not received these benefits, the Central Bank said. 

“Based on the information received by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, many borrowers who have been affected by the recent floods are not aware of this concessionary scheme and therefore, have not received these concessions,” the bank said in a statement. 

This May, the Central Bank requested banks  to provide a 3-month moratorium on loans taken by borrowers who were affected by the floods during that month. 

Nearly 700,000 people were affected by the floods.

Further, the Central Bank requested banks to waive penal rates on overdue and non-performing loans of flood-affected borrowers who had shown willingness to settle these loans during the 3-month moratorium as well. 

These actions were to be taken by banks on a case-by-case basis. 

However, these instructions were issued through a circular and not a binding directive. 

The Central Bank last week asked flood-affected borrowers to contact their bank branches with regard to borrowings concessions. The moratorium will effectively end on the 29th of this month for borrowings as at May 25, 2017.