BSP offers loan relief measures to ease energy price pressures

The BSP also asked FIs to temporarily suspend online banking and e-money service fees and charges.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is extending regulatory relief measures to its supervised financial institutions (FIs) and their clients in response to rising energy prices and supply constraints.

These include loan reliefs, exclusion of loans of affected borrowers from past due and non-performing loan (NPL) counts, and suspension of fees and charges in online banking and e-money services.

Under Monetary Board Resolution No. 296, the Philippine central bank is granting a temporary grace period of up to six months for loan repayments of affected borrowers.

Agricultural loan payments can be deferred for up to one year, subject to bank assessment.

For FIs, loans to affected borrowers may be temporarily excluded from past due and NPL classifications for up to one year, subject to conditions.

The BSP said that it expects the FIs to exercise prudent judgement in availing these measures, and to ensure that the relief is extended only to borrowers whose ability to pay back their loans has been materially affected by the energy emergency.

The BSP also urged FIs to help consumers and businesses by temporarily suspend fees and charges on online banking platforms and e-money services. These include InstaPay and PESOnet electronic funding transfers.