No grace period for loan payments in 'NCR Plus' ECQ, says BSP

The previously implemented 30-day grace period on loan payments will not apply in this week's reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila but banks are encouraged to offer relief to borrowers, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.

In a statement, the central bank said the 30-day grace expired along with the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act on June 1, 2020, and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) did not push to have it extended.

"The BSP strongly encourages BSFIs to continue to provide relief measures to its clients by renewing, restructuring, or extending the terms of the loans, among others, based on their continuing assessment of their cash flows," it said.

"The BSP has granted prudential relief measures to BSFIs to enable them to continue to provide financial services and support households and business amid the crisis," it added.

To recall, the government implemented a 30-day grace period on loans falling due within the Luzon-wide ECQ in 2020.

Metro Manila and nearby provinces -- collectively tagged as NCR Plus -- are under ECQ from March 29 to April 4, 2021.

Prior to the announcement of the ECQ, the government banned the non-essential entry and exit into the NCR Plus bubble during the same period. The bubble also covers Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, and Bulacan. —KBK, GMA News