The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on banks and other financing institutions to grant temporary relief to borrowers hardest hit by the pandemic through voluntary and negotiated loan term extension or restructuring.
PCCI president Benedicto Yujuico also asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to incentivize lenders that will defer or restructure loan principal repayments for individual and corporate borrowers heavily burdened by the impact of the prolonged community quarantine upon mutually acceptable and reasonable terms and conditions.
Yujuico said instead of making loan deferments or restructuring mandatory, the BSP should consider the grant of regulatory relief measures, such as the relaxation of rules on loan loss provisioning and staggered booking of loan loss provisions as proposed by House Bill No. 6815, or the Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy bill.
“The key to obtaining relief for our members is for the BSP to encourage and help banks to be able to support the businesses and industries hardest hit by the pandemic,” Yujuico said.
He said PCCI and the business community were supporting the ARISE bill’s provision to extend loan terms for a period of one to two years. He also asked the banking sector to provide businesses more breathing room to help support trade and industry survive the pandemic.
“We are calling on the banks to review their guidelines with a request to align with the ARISE to allow longer payment extensions so that they can respond appropriately to the big negative impact of the pandemic on many borrowers,” Yujuico said.
He said that during the lockdown, many member companies of PCCI were unable to generate enough revenues to pay outstanding loans to banks. The willingness of bank to restructure loans will breathe life back into businesses and preserve employment, he said.