Carlos Gomez / X
House destroyed by depression Kristin
The moratorium that suspended payment of installments ends today. Banks have to monitor customers, difficulties may arise.
Customers with housing credit who benefited from the moratorium created for victims of bad weather have to resume paymentss today, Tuesday, and anyone who foresees difficulties should contact the bank, advises Banco de Portugal.
In a statement released this Monday, the Bank of Portugal (BdP) recalls that “the moratorium which allowed suspend temporarily pay the installments of permanent real estate credit to families affected by Storm Kristin and other adverse meteorological phenomena” ends on April 28th.
The end of this measure means that, from that date onwards, customers “resume normal payment of credit installments” and, if there has been capitalization of interest, “the amount owed may now be higher”remember.
Furthermore, “the credit payment plan –— including principal, interest, commissions and other charges — was automatically extended for the period in which payments were suspended” during the moratorium.
Os banks have to to accompany customers and, if they foresee difficulties for the period after the end of the moratorium, they must “submit, up to five working days before its end, proposals to prevent non-compliance of the credit contract, appropriate to the customer’s situation, objectives and needs, without increasing the agreed interest rate”, within the scope of the Action Plan for the Risk of Default (PARI), says the central bank.
The regulator emphasizes that if a customer has not received any proposal and predict “difficulties in paying installments after the end of the moratorium, you must contact the bank as soon as possible and inform you of these difficulties.”
In these circumstances, “the bank is obliged to analyze its situation within the scope of PARI and, if there is a risk of default, it must present solutions appropriate to your financial situation”, he explains.
Among the proposed solutions may be, for example, a “period of lack of capital, or of capital and interest”, a “postponement payment of part of the capital towards the end of the contract” or a “enlargement of the contract term”, lists the central bank.
“These solutions can help avoid default, but it is important to keep in mind that if the benefit is reduced (or payment is suspended for a certain period), the total cost of credit will increase in the end“, it says.
To customers who received the proposal to prevent non-compliance, the BdP advises them to analyze the information “with attention”, and remembers that they have the right to accept, refuse or present alternatives.
Data from the BdP indicate that requests were made 7,400 moratoriums by families and companies, in the global amount of 930 million euros.
With the end of the moratorium approaching, Deco Proteste estimated that the measure represented “an additional cost close to 7.5 million euros, the equivalent of around 1,000 euros per contract“.
According to information collected by Lusa, the Government is preparing the extension of moratoriumswhich should be known at the end of this week or beginning of next. However, it was not possible to know whether it is for companies, families or both.
Official sources from the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Portugal did not respond to Lusa’s questions on the topic.
As for the Portuguese Banking Association (APB), it told Lusa that it is in contact with the Government on the issue, but without providing further information.
“APB is monitoring the issue and maintains contact with the Government as part of regular institutional dialogue. At this stage, APB has no additional comments on concrete measures,” said an official source.
At least 19 people died in Portugal between the end of January and the beginning of March following the passage of depressions Kristin, Leonardo and Marta, which also left several hundred injured, homeless and displaced. More than half of the deaths were recorded in recovery work.
