ISLAMABAD: In order to facilitate small and medium sized businesses and households amid COVDI-19 pandemic, the State Bank of Pakistan has decided to extend the deferment of principal amount facility till 30th of September.
In a statement, SBP said that this facility will however be available for small & medium enterprise financing, consumer financing, housing finance, agriculture finance and micro financing only.
The facility is not being extended to corporates and commercial borrowers since a significant amount of their loans and advances has already been deferred.
It is expected that more businesses and households, who were not able to avail the facility, will benefit from this extension, said the SBP.
On March 26th 2020, amid growing concerns about the potential economic impact of the COVID–19 pandemic, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in collaboration with the collaboration of Pakistan Banks Association (PBA) had announced a comprehensive set of measures to help businesses and households to manage their finances.
Among these, a key measure was the deferment of principal amount of loans and advances by banks and DFIs. Under this facility, businesses and households could request for the deferment of their loans and advances for a period of one year, albeit continuing to service the mark-up amount.
