5 June 2020 - 2 min Reading time
The current measures to support the economy during the corona crisis will be extended and expanded. The financial sector and Minister of Finance Alexander De Croo have agreed on this.
This extension and - for SMEs - expansion of the measures gives private individuals, companies and self-employed people who have been severely affected by the corona crisis some more financial breathing space to get through this extremely difficult period.
Both private individuals and companies can receive a payment deferral on their mortgage loan or business loan. While this postponement initially ran until October 31, it has now been extended until December 31, 2020.
In concrete terms: private individuals and companies that have applied for and received a payment deferment can request an additional deferral until December 31 on October 31 - if they still meet all the conditions.
Since the measures came into effect on March 31, payment deferrals have been granted more than 250,000 times. The banks granted more than 118,000 payment deferrals to private individuals for their mortgage loans. The total underlying credit volume amounts to 12.3 billion euros or an average of 104,000 euros per loan.
For corporate loans, this involves more than 130,000 deferrals of payment for an underlying credit volume of 21 billion euros, or an average of 160,000 euros per credit. More than 80% of the number of payment deferrals are granted to SMEs and the self-employed.
The entry point for the guarantee scheme for new loans with a term of 12 months will also be extended until the end of 2020. The original deadline for entry on September 30 will therefore no longer apply.
For SMEs - which often need longer-term loans - an additional guarantee scheme is now also provided for loans with a term between 12 and 36 months.