Banks agree to grant loan moratorium to enterprises affected by Ditwah

By Yohan Perera
The banks have agreed to grant a loan moratorium to the enterprises affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the Industry Ministry said yesterday. 
“In line with the Central Bank circular, all banks agreed to promptly grant a loan repayment moratorium of three to six months for all businesses impacted by the disaster. This relief will be provided without imposing any additional fees or interest,” the ministry said. 
This decision has already been communicated to all bank branches. The eligible business owners are required to submit a request to their respective banks to access this facility.
To support the rapid recovery of the industries and businesses affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Ministry held a special meeting yesterday with the senior officials from all banks, credit division representatives and officials from the Central Bank and Finance Ministry Development Division. During the discussion, consensus was reached on several important decisions to provide immediate financial relief to the affected businesses.
An agreement was reached on establishing a common mechanism for resolving the issues and all banks have expressed readiness to provide concessionary low interest loans recommended by the Central Bank. The relevant guidelines for these facilities have already been issued by the Central Bank.
To ensure the effective implementation of these relief measures, an agreement was also reached to share the data on the affected businesses between the banking system and Industry Ministry and to establish a common data system and coordination mechanism for this purpose.
Furthermore, the Industry Ministry and banking sector agreed to review the progress of this process on a weekly basis.