By the decision of the National Bank of Serbia, bank clients were provided with another delay in the repayment of liabilities maturing from 1 August 2020 to 30 September 2020, as well as a delay in the repayment of liabilities due in July this year, which have not been settled.
Banks and financial leasing providers are obliged to offer natural persons, farmers, entrepreneurs and companies a delay in the repayment of obligations, by notifying them about the offer by 31 July 2020, via their websites, while specifying:
- The information on the beginning of the implementation, as well as the duration of the moratorium
- The calculation of interest
- The manner of repayment of obligations upon the termination of the moratorium
- Possible alternative ways of repaying liabilities
- A representative example of the changes in an obligation before and after the termination of the moratorium
Clients who want to defer their obligations do not have to contact the banks, they will automatically enter the moratorium.
Clients who want to continue paying their obligations are obliged to inform the bank in one of the following ways:
- via telephone
- via email
- via a form on the bank's website
- in person, by going to a branch office
however, the latter option is not recommended, due to the current situation with the Covid-19 virus pandemic.
Upon termination of the moratorium, the bank/lessor will distribute the accrued regular interest evenly over the repayment period, without attributing it to the principal of the debt, with the repayment period being extended for the duration of the moratorium. Default interest calculated during the period of the moratorium, on claims due prior to the moratorium, will be evenly distributed over the repayment period, without being attributed to the principal of the debt.
When submitting the repayment plan, the bank/lessor must clearly present to the debtor other possible repayment methods, as well as the deadline within which the debtor may request a different repayment method upon termination of the moratorium:
- possibility to pay only interest incurred during the 2 months’ of the moratorium, whereby the duration of the obligation is extended by 2 months
- possibility to pay the 2 instalments from the moratorium at once and to continue paying obligations with the same amount of instalments as before the delay in repayment
The Association of Serbian Banks invites all clients to first of all look at their situation and what is best for them. The users who really need it should decide on the delay in repayment, bearing in mind that the moratorium extends the duration of the loan, and thus increases the total amount that will have to be repaid.
With the extension of the moratorium, the banking system of Serbia continues to support the citizens and economy of Serbia throughout the crisis situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The first moratorium, announced in March this year, provided support of around EUR 2 billion, and that is also the value of the guarantee scheme for lending to business entities.