Payment deferral for consumer credit possible again in 2021
28 January 2021 - 3 min Reading time
Consumers who continue to experience financial difficulties due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis can once again receive temporary payment deferral for their consumer credit(s). Such a scheme had already been in place for mortgage loans for several weeks.
The borrower requesting a payment deferral must meet the following conditions. The borrower:
- Is experiencing income loss due to the coronavirus crisis (e.g., temporary technical unemployment, illness, etc.),
- Requests deferral of credit repayment themselves,
- Took out their credit before May 1, 2020,
- Has no payment arrears of more than one month on January 1, 2021.
Extension of up to 3 months possible
The payment deferral applies to both the deferral of principal and interest. It can be taken for a maximum of three months and will expire no later than the end of June 2021. Payment deferral can be requested from February through the end of March. For example, an application submitted and approved at the end of February will cover the months of March, April, and May.
After this deferral period has ended, repayments will resume. There will be no dossier or administration fees charged. However, the consumer remains liable for the interest accrued during the deferral period, which will be calculated and spread over the remaining months.
Important: The payment deferrals allowed under the first and second schemes combined must never exceed 9 months. If you have already received a total of 9 months of payment deferral for your consumer credit, you will not be eligible for further deferral. Febelfin advises those individuals to contact their banker as soon as possible to explore a customized solution.
Timing
In the coming days, banks will begin offering payment deferral for consumer credit. Consumers should therefore keep an eye on their bank's website.
The application for payment deferral must be submitted on time, taking into account a processing period of 10 calendar days. For example, an application for payment deferral starting on March 1, 2021, must be submitted by no later than February 19, 2021.
The end date for granting payment deferral is set for March 31, 2021. Consequently, the application must be submitted no later than March 21, 2021. No authorized payment deferral can extend beyond the end of June.
