As Turkey continues its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, new measures are being added every day. Ziraat Bank, Vakıfbank and Halkbank have launched support packages to help their customers overcome the virus outbreak with minimal financial damage. The support packages of the three major public banks aim to postpone the debt of both individual and commercial customers, provide additional limits and protect employment.
Following the packages of public banks, Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak reminded that public banks also fulfilled their responsibilities in a statement on Twitter and said, “We will overcome this bad situation hand in hand with the state-nation and the business world. I believe that our private banks will accompany these valuable steps of our public banks.” The first response to this call came from Türkiye İş Bankası.
New support steps from Ziraat
Ziraat Bank announced that upon the requests of companies and individual customers who could not pay the end-of-period installments, interest and principal due on March 31, it is possible to postpone these payments. Ziraat Bank branches will continue to serve customers between 09.00-17.00, the statement said: “The development of appropriate term restructuring practices has been put into practice, with a grace period of up to 6 months for the existing loans of our customers who have payment problems due to cash flow deterioration, and up to 12 months in sectors with periodic activities such as tourism.
As of the end of February, we have taken the measure to provide companies that pay their personnel salaries through our bank with an additional limit equal to their personnel salary expenses for the next 3 months, provided that they do not reduce their current employment. We have implemented measures to increase general credit limits and allocate additional cash credit limits to be used by our credit customers for the payment of their checks drawn on our bank. We have implemented measures to increase the corporate card limits of our customers with corporate credit card and DBS limits to meet their working capital needs.”
9-point package from Vakıfbank
Vakıfbank also announced that it has added a new step to the steps it has taken. Within the scope of the package, firms will be provided with flexibility in all loan installments and payments until June 30, including interest at the end of the period ending March 31. In order to meet the demand for employment protection loans, businesses will be provided with long-term loans equal to 3 months’ salary expenses. Existing loans of enterprises will be restructured with grace periods according to their cash flows and sectoral conditions.
Loans specific to the most affected sectors, including tourism and urban public transportation, will be restructured with a grace period of up to 12 months. In order to facilitate companies’ public payment obligations such as tax and SSI, cash management limits will be increased and payments to be made from these limits will be allowed in installments of up to 12 months with a grace period of 3 months. By increasing the limits of Business Cards of companies, cost-free supply capacities will be increased.
By increasing the limit and prevalence of the VBanko Check product, the need for cash will be reduced and cost-free financing will be provided by putting the banking guarantee facility into circulation. Credit requests of citizens in need of personal loans will be provided through Vakıfbank Mobile, internet banking and Sky Limits so that they will not be exposed to the pandemic risk. Individual loan customers’ installments and credit card payments can be deferred for up to 3 months.
Stabilization measures from Halkbank
Halkbank announced financial stability measures against the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Until March 31, 2020, companies and individual customers who cannot pay their installments, interest and principal will be able to postpone their payments for this period. In order to support the adversities experienced by tradesmen and craftsmen during this period, if they request, the principal and interest payments of the loans they have used in April, May and June of this year will be postponed for 3 months from the payment due dates and without interest.
Bank customers who have payment problems due to cash flow deterioration will be offered the opportunity to restructure their loans with favorable terms with a grace period of up to 6 months. The grace period can be extended up to 12 months in sectors with seasonal activities such as tourism. Companies that pay their personnel salaries through Halkbank will be given an additional credit limit equal to their personnel salary expenses for the next 3-month period, provided that they do not reduce their employment compared to the end of February.
General credit limits will be increased and additional cash credit limits will be allocated to companies for the payment of checks drawn on Halkbank by the bank’s credit customers. In order to meet working capital needs, the corporate card limits of companies with Halkbank corporate credit card and Direct Debiting System limits will be increased.
Additional limit from İşbank to protect employment
With the package announced by İşbank, if customers need it until April 30, the bank will allow principal/interest/ installment payments to be postponed until June 30 without any additional conditions, and will provide all necessary support, including the grace period, by evaluating each need on a case-by-case basis, regardless of the sector, especially in the tourism, logistics, shopping mall and retail sectors, whose financial structure has been adversely affected by the pandemic.
Explaining that it will make maximum effort to support SMEs and micro enterprises with existing limits and, if necessary, for additional limits, the bank will contribute to the payment of salary payments of bank customers, whether or not they have a salary agreement, for the next 3 months by allocating additional limits if necessary, provided that they do not make any employment reduction. No bank will charge its customers for EFT/transfer transactions to be made through digital channels (including card-to-card transfers) until April 30. Credit card limits will be increased if our customers need it at the time of shopping, especially for health and food. POS and ÖKC fees will be postponed for 3 months and individual customers will have the opportunity to postpone consumer loan, credit card and additional account payments for 3 months.
Ziraat Participation also stepped in
Ziraat Participation also announced that it will postpone the installment, dividend and principal payments due until March 31 for its individual and commercial customers upon request. The bank also brought to the agenda the development of appropriate term structuring practices for the existing financing of customers who may have payment problems, with a grace period of up to 6 months and up to 12 months in sectors with periodic activities. Provided that the companies that pay their personnel salaries from Ziraat Participation maintain their employment at the end of February 2020, they will be given an additional limit up to 3 months of personnel salary expenses if they need it. The additional limit needs of customers who have a financing limit from the bank for working capital and Direct Debiting System will be met urgently.
Convenience in payments from Vakıf Katılım
Vakıf Participation also announced in the package that it will provide flexibility in the installment payments of its customers until June 30 upon request. In the package, it was stated that the existing funds used by the transactions will be restructured with grace periods in accordance with their cash flows and according to their sectoral situations. In addition, Vakıf Participation will restructure fund disbursements specific to the most affected sectors, including tourism and urban public transportation, with a grace period of up to 12 months. In order to meet the employment protection fund demands of enterprises that receive salary payment services from their institutions, funds with a maturity of 1 year will be made available up to “3 months of salary expenses”. In order to facilitate companies’ public payment obligations such as tax and SSI, installments of up to 12 months with a grace period of 3 months will be provided.
Working hours changed at private banks
Within the framework of coronavirus measures, working hours of banks were also changed. Private banks have planned box office working hours in branches as 12:00-17:00. There is no change in EFT and money transfer hours. All public banks continue to work between 09:00-17:00.
Source: https://www.dunya.com/ekonomi/ek-limit-saglanacak-borclar-otelenecek-haberi-465629
