Do banks make concessions to borrowers?

Many people have begun approaching banks to seek deferrals on loan repayments, the European Radio for Belarus has learned.

"I took a loan from your bank last year. But, now, my income has dropped and it is hard to make loan repayments. Is it possible to reduce monthly payments or to get a deferral”, this reporter asked Belrosbank.

Belrosbank: “We are considering a set of measures to restructure loan payments. Preliminary, we will have this issue resolved by May”.

Thus, I have to endure for about two months and can count on a payment deferral. Meanwhile, I must make payments in full.

Belrosbank: “So far, there are no deferrals on loan repayments. It is yet to be known how this set of measures on problem borrowers and their difficult financial condition will look like”.

The Minsk Transit Bank told me that I should write an application and explain the reasons why it is hard to repay the loan.

“If someone is unable to repay the loan due to financial constraints, he or she has to write an application and file it with the bank. The application will be registered and studied by the bank’s loan committee. The decision will depend on a certain situation, as someone purchases a car for $100 thousand and say he has no money to pay. Another person can buy his car for $5000 and he has no money indeed. Anything happens in life”.

Belgazprombank also asks to justify the reasons. The bank is most likely to make a step forward. Many people have begun writing such requests, and the decisions are mainly positive, Aleh Koushar from the bank’s loan department, has assured me.

But not every bank has promised such concessions. Moscow-Minsk Bank, PriorBank and Belarusbank said they unfortunately could not help. Belarusbank allowed only to shift the payment deadline from the 20th day of the month to the end of the month.

“If you obtained your loan before the 20th, you can amend the loan agreement so that you pay by the end of the month. We will make concessions in this regard. Anyway, you have to repay what you have borrowed from us on a monthly basis. Otherwise, we will have to bother your guarantors.

Anatol Drazdow, a spokesman for the National Bank of Belarus, explains that banks are entitled to resolving these issues autonomously.

“Banks are independent in their credit policy. If they have problems with recovering the loans, they must take measures, because this is their money. No additional resolutions are needed. They decide for themselves, depending on a situation which affects their loan portfolio”.

Anyway, it is possible to write an application to the bank, requesting to change the loan agreement conditions. The Civic Code stipulates that conditions can be amended with the consent of the both parties. If a bank agrees to new conditions, you can consider yourself lucky, because it means you can count on some concessions from the bank.

Photos by bymedia.net і mk.ru