Malaysia-owned Maybank (Cambodia) Plc has become the second commercial bank in the Kingdom to announce loan relief for customers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this month, Cambodian Public Bank Plc (Campu Bank), a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Public Bank Bhd, also announced a loan moratorium for its customers.
Maybank said that since the outbreak, it has offered financial advice to customers impacted by the pandemic, in addition to launching a financial relief scheme in the form of restructuring and rescheduling financing, as well as a moratorium on loan repayments.
“The financial relief is open to businesses and individuals affected by the current situation, to be assessed on a case-to-case basis,” the bank said.
Maybank (Cambodia) CEO Mohd Hanif Suadi said the recent loan restructuring guidelines issued by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) was certainly a welcome move to alleviate the financial burden of the businesses and individuals affected by the outbreak, particularly in the four priority sectors of tourism, garments, construction and transportation.
“We understand that the sudden turn of events arising from the virus outbreak has impacted our customers across different segments of society, who may need some breathing space in meeting their financial obligations at this time,” Mohd Hanif said.
He added that affected businesses and individuals must be aware of, and agreeable to, the accrued interest and revised repayment amount or tenure after the deferment and thoroughly understand the terms of the revised financing.
The announcement comes after the NBC’s March 27 directive to all banks and financial institutions to restructure credit for loans for vulnerable customers.
Mohd Hanif said affected customers were welcome to contact their branch officers or relationship managers to discuss possible solutions to overcome any financial challenges they may be facing. The financial advisory services are offered at no cost to customers.
“The Covid-19 pandemic is an unfortunate situation and the bank is taking this opportunity to do the right thing in line with our mission of humanising financial services.
“Maybank is committed to relieving its customers’ stress during these trying times, and to allow them to focus on what matters most, which is their family and health,” he said.
